A victim who is suing the UK government for a public inquiry has said he is haunted by the Park Inn stabbings in Glasgow.
The man named in court as MG was the first victim of fellow asylum seeker Badreddin Abdalla Adam during the attack at the Park Inn Hotel in the city centre on June 26, 2020. He was knifed a number of times and left bleeding on the pavement.
His attacker then stabbed another two asylum seekers, police officer David Whyte and two hotel staff before he was shot by armed cops.
READ MORE: Asylum seeker vulnerability checks ‘not up to par’ during lockdown
Badreddin Abdalla Adam
The Daily Record reports that a legal challenge was launched last week claiming how asylum seekers were treated during the Covid lockdown contributed to the tragedy which saw six people knifed.
He said: “I still can’t sleep. Every night I feel I am fighting to control the demons, the nightmares of what happened. I am a different person and no matter how I try, I can’t block out what happened.
“I have had therapy but it never goes away. I am so scared when I am out.”
Home Office contractors Mears put hundreds of asylum seekers in hotels at the beginning of the pandemic. Campaigners argued that they were left isolated and without adequate support.
A leaked Home Office internal review found warning signs were ignored that Adam was mentally ill. It also revealed hotel staff had received a report the day before the attack that he had talked of wanting to stab people.
It was also revealed that Adam contacted the Home Office, Mears, and Migrant Help 72 times about his health and accommodation.
MG said: “I forgive Adam because he was sick but I don’t forgive the Home Office, who treated asylum seekers like they were not human beings. The legal action is not about me. It is about stopping it happening again to other asylum seekers. We need an inquiry because we deserve answers and accountability.”
MG travelled with the support of Refugees for Justice to the Royal Courts of Justice in London for a hearing last week.
The action is calling for an independent inquiry to examine how asylum seekers’ human rights were potentially abused.
READ MORE: Asylum seeker contacted Home Office and contractors 72 times before Glasgow stabbin
A Mears spokesman told the newspaper: “It would be inappropriate to comment”.
The Home Office has claimed an inquiry is not needed and that it has “undertaken a number of significant changes to keep asylum seekers safe”.
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