A detained Zimbabwean asylum seeker in the UK has embarked on a hunger strike, to protest alleged racism and mistreatment at the hands of detention centre employees.

The 43 year old woman has been locked up in the UK's Yarl's Wood detention facility for more than five months. She is also protesting the prolonged detention she has had to endure despite independent verification of the torture she suffered in Zimbabwe. In the UK, people seeking asylum who have been tortured are only supposed to be locked up "in exceptional circumstances." But new claims, highlighted by the UK's Observer newspaper over the weekend, indicate that many torture survivors are being wrongfully detained.

The newspaper quotes medical charities that carry out independent assessments of torture survivors as part of the UK's asylum application process. These groups have indicated that their reports are being ignored, with many victims remaining in detention centres until their asylum claims are heard.

The Zimbabwean woman, who fled to the UK after being beaten, tortured and raped, is just one such torture victim set to fall through the cracks in the UK's asylum system. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, alleges medical mistreatment and racist abuse by staff, claims that have been denied. She told The Observer: "The officers are racist and are not sympathetic. We have suffered and don't want to be tortured here, but inside here it is a form of torture but nobody can see us locked up."

The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, the UK charity dedicated to the treatment of torture survivors, has reportedly lodged complaints with the UK Home Office over concerns that its assessments, documenting evidence of abuse among asylum seekers, were being dismissed. The foundation cited figures from the last 18 months showing only seven people had been released from detention out of 250 cases where clinical evidence of abuse had been presented. The UK Border Agency has meanwhile denied the claims. Hugh Ind, the agency's director for protection, told The Observer: "We consider all evidence submitted in support of asylum claims very carefully, including claims of torture.

Where an individual sets out a credible case that they are in need of protection, we normally grant asylum."

The UK has been trying to clear a backlog of asylum cases, and introduced a fast track system this year to try and clear the estimated two hundred thousand cases still pending finalisation. But the fast track system is being widely criticised. In his first review of the system, the newly appointed independent Chief Inspector of the Border Agency said it had devastating consequences for survivors of torture. Human Rights Watch has also expressed concern that the system is failing people who genuinely need protection.