Immigrants face abuse in South Africa

The South African Human Rights Commission says many black African foreigners in the country are facing unreasonable levels of physical and verbal abuse, both on the streets and in police custody.

It says the problems are compounded if the foreigners are asylum seekers or illegal immigrants.

The Human Rights Commission says refugees and immigrants -- most of them from neighbouring countries or from West Africa -- are among the most marginalised people living in South Africa; it wants them to be given greater protection, and a judicial body to be set up to monitor their treatment in prison. The BBC correspondent in Johannesburg says South Africa's long period of isolation under apartheid means it's still a relatively new thing to see black foreigners walking the streets of major cities and towns, leading to high levels of suspicion and aggression against them.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service <