Georgia, United States
Immigration authorities have released the last woman detained in an undocumented prison in Georgia, out of a group of more than 40 who claim to have suffered medical abuse at that center, civil rights organizations reported Saturday.
Attorney Azadeh Shahshahani, Project South’s legal director, confirmed to Efe that the immigrant, whose identity has not been disclosed, was released from Irwin detention center in southern Georgia on Friday, thanks to a class action lawsuit filed in December against the prison’s gynecologist Mahendra Amin.
The woman was the last of the group to participate in the legal action that took place in Irwin after the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Service (ICE, for the acronym) released the rest in recent weeks.
“We are delighted to see the freedom of immigrant women who suffered so much while in detention in Irwin. This is only the first step towards justice.
Survivors of medical abuse in Irwin should be compensated for the damage they have suffered, ”said the lawyer.
“We will not rest until this awful facility is closed,” said one of the group’s lawyers.
The lawsuit was filed in a court of late December Georgia and includes the testimonials of more than 40 immigrants who denounced the “neglect, abuse and reprisals” they claim to have experienced while in custody. ICE in the center of Irwin, in the remote town of Ocilla.
Medical interventions
The women revealed a “relentless pattern of non-consensual medical procedures, including gynecological operations unwanted and other non-consensual medical interventions. “
“The word ‘thank you’ is very small to my God and to all the people who fought to free her. My message to my immigrant people is that we are fighters and I consider myself a strong and militant woman, ” said Lourdes, another victim who was released from Irwin last Thursday.
Project South, Government Accountability Project and other organizations exposed the scandal that shook the center for undocumented migrants in a legal complaint they filed with the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) last September.