The Parliamentary Ombudsman has carried out a review of what consequences the measures of the Migration Board have had in preventing the spread of covid-19 for migration detainees.

The Migration Board has established certain units for quarantine where detainees that may be infected, or are confirmed to be infected with covid-19, are able to stay. The Parliamentary Ombudsman holds that it is essential that the authority takes certain measures to secure that detainees, that may be infected with covid-19 do not spread the infection, but also that they are not exposed to infection, by detainees with a confirmed infection. The Parliamentary Ombudsman further notes that a stay at a quarantine unit is voluntary, which implies that personnel must take necessary measures to make sure that detainees have understood that their stay at the unit is voluntary.

Shortly after the outbreak of the pandemic, the Police Authority took measures that led to the release of 200 detainees. In spite of the fact that the occupancy of detainees has dropped it has come to the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s knowledge that it is difficult for detainees to keep a social distance at the detention centres. The Parliamentary Ombudsman does not consider it excluded that detainees share housing during an ongoing pandemic, provided that the Migration Board takes the measures required for the detainees to be able to maintain a social distance.

During the review information emerged that the Migration Board had allowed a man to remain in the detention centre in Märsta although his decision on detention was revoked. The man was infected and ill of covid-19 and had nowhere to go. He spent a number of days in the detention centre, separated from other detainees and died some time later at the hospital. The Parliamentary Ombudsman holds that a detainee that does not hold a valid decision on detention may not spend time in the detention centre. The detention centre manged the situation in a way that restricted the detainee’s rights. The Parliamentary Ombudsman considers it problematic that the Migration Board did not ensure that the situation was resolved before the man was taken to the hospital. The Parliamentary Ombudsman further notes that the circumstances were such that the options of the detention centre were limited. The Parliamentary Ombudsman states that there are reasons for the  Migration Board to take efforts to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the incident in order to secure that an individual is not accommodated at the detention centre.

In the decision, the Parliamentary Ombudsman also makes certain statements regarding the Migration Board’s temporary restriction of inmates' possibilities to receive visits and the need for routines for the treatment of detainees who belong to a risk category in the event of a covid-19 infection. The Parliamentary Ombudsman believes that the legislator needs to consider if regulations pursuant to the Aliens Act corresponds to the need for restricted visitation, that may arise as a result of a pandemic.