No-Deportations - Residence Papers for All

                                                    News & Views - Monday 12th to Sunday 18th March 2012

Charter Flight to Pakistan PVT120 Monday 19th March @ 22:00 hrs

We the detainees in Harmondsworth IRC, hereby make this statement, "That our lives would be in danger if we are sent back to Pakistan on Charter Flight to Pakistan PVT120 Monday 19th March @ 22:00 hrs, please help us fight this injustice".

As yet 'No-Deportations' has not received any campaign materials from the detainees, we will post them as soon as we do, this may be later today or over the weekend.

Have also heard that a number of detainees were returned to IRCs yesterday after captain refused to board them. First stop was Accra/Ghana and Ghanaian removees were boarded but those for onward transit from Accra were not boarded as captain had no adequate information that onward flights had been arranged.


Iraq [ unwelcome increase in sectarian tensions ]

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment his Department has made of the security situation in Iraq; and if he will make a statement. [99428]

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned about the fragile security situation in Iraq, including an unwelcome increase in sectarian tensions. I condemned the terrorist attacks which targeted Iraqi police on 23 February. I called on Iraq's political leaders to unite to ensure political progress delivers real improvements in security for all of Iraq's people, and to bring the perpetrators to justice. We continue to support the Iraqi Government in its fight against terrorism, including through the training of Iraqi police and security forces, and strengthening the rule of law.
House of Commons / 14 Mar 2012 : Column 248W


Locked Away: Sri Lanka'S Security Detainees

For the past three decades, Sri Lankan authorities have circumvented or ignored protections built into the ordinary criminal justice system, sometimes acting outside the law, but often taking advantage of security legislation that allowed them to arrest suspects without evidence or warrants and to hold them without charge or trial for extended periods. This security regime has been a way of life for a generation of policymakers, law enforcement and military personnel, civil servants and ordinary Sri Lankans. It has warped public concepts of justice and due process, and eroded faith in law enforcement. It has disabled healthy checks on executive power, expediting arrests and detentions at the expense of human rights, obstructing legal challenges to detention, and restricting the free flow of information.

Hopes that the end of the armed conflict would end (or at least decrease) these practices have been frustrated. Sri Lankan authorities continue to arrest and detain suspects without minimal safeguards. Sri Lankan law permits police to remove prisoners from their cells and transport them from place to place [ Ghosting ] for the purpose of investigation – a practice that has contributed to torture and custodial killings. Detainees have been held incommunicado and tortured in unofficial places of detention which have included private homes, repurposed schools, administrative buildings and warehouses. Torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions continue in Sri Lanka in part because of these arbitrary detention practices. The culture of impunity that was established in Sri Lanka during the course of the armed conflict continues to pervert the rule of law and hamper the provision of justice.
Refworld/Amnesty International, 13/03/12


Average time to reach a decision on in-time applications

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time was to reach a decision on in-time applications for (a) further leave to remain and (b) indefinite leave to remain in the most recent period for which figures are available. [98941]

Damian Green: For the period January to December 2011, the average time to reach a decision on in-time applications was (a) 34 working days for leave to remain, and (b) 60 working days for indefinite leave to remain. These figures relate to postal lead applications despatched in 2011.


Keep Mary Adenugba Safe in the UK

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My name is Aminet Mary Adenugba and I am a victim of human trafficking

Please read my story below and if so minded,

sign my online petition here . . . .

I was brought to the UK from Nigeria in 2004 and was exploited and abused for three years. I managed to escape from that life but even after I ran away, many other people in this country misused me because I was alone and vulnerable. Now I am safe and I have friends here who protect me but it is still not safe for me to return to Nigeria. This is my story:

I was born into a Muslim family on November 20th 1970. My dad was a bus driver and my mum was a street trader. I had two brothers and two sisters and I was the oldest. We lived in Lagos. I went to the local school where there were both Muslims and Christians. All my friends were Christians and in my teens I decided to convert to Christianity. My dad, who had always been hostile to me from birth, was very angry but my mum protected me and tried to keep me safe. He and my brothers started to threaten me and I was forced to leave.

I went to live in a small flat and worked as a hairdresser. Then I met a man and found that I was pregnant. My father was furious; he said that I had brought shame on the family, but again my mother helped me. I gave birth to my baby daughter on June 22nd 1998.

One day, when my daughter was about three and half years old, I went to a wedding while my mother looked after her. While I was at the wedding, there was an explosion in Lagos in which my mum and sisters were killed. My little girl was never found. My father accused me of witchcraft and said I had brought this misfortune on the family. He said that I must die. I had to go into hiding.

A local church tried to help me but I was in a bad way: destitute, homeless, no job or money and my beloved mother dead and little girl gone. I tried to commit suicide. When I came out of hospital, the pastor introduced me to a local black man, Uncle Kay. He was a respected member of the church. He said he would help to take me somewhere I would be safe. He gave me a new name and date of birth, and brought me to the UK.

In London I was forced to work as a prostitute. If there were no men to be serviced, I was made to work in a hair salon. I kept escaping but kept getting caught again. Uncle Kay shouted and starved me. Then he brought me to Manchester and gave me to Uncle Philip, a white english man. Once again I was imprisoned and forced to work as a prostitute or used to clean offices or houses or work as a hairdresser. I was just a slave.
Late one night, when we were out, Uncle Philip and I were approached by the police and I was taken to the police station. I was very scared and confused and harmed myself. I was too frightened to tell them about the trafficking. The police released me after telling me to claim asylum at Dallas Court, but I didn't understand what that meant. I was frightened that Uncle Philip would find me. After leaving the police station, I met some people who took me in but they started exploiting me. This happened several times because I was destitute and very vulnerable. It went on for three years. 

Then I met some people at RAPAR who helped me to help myself. They found me a safe place to live, put me in touch with the Poppy Project and assisted me in writing my story.

Please support Mary's campaign to keep her safe in the UK. Thank you!

From: RAPAR <rapar.news@gmail.com>

RAPAR: Working Together to Achieve Equal Human Rights
http://www.rapar.org.uk/keep-mary-safe.html

ARC: Commentary on the UKBA December Sri Lanka OGN
This commentary identifies what the 'Still Human Still Here' coalition considers to be the main inconsistencies and omissions between the currently available country of origin information (COI) and case law on Sri Lanka and the conclusions reached in the December 2011 Sri Lanka OGN. Where we believe inconsistencies have been identified, the relevant section of the OGN is highlighted in blue. The commentary is intended as a tool to assist legal practitioners and to help ensure that all relevant material is considered by decision-makers.

You can download the commentary here . . . .

Previous commentaries on Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe can be accessed here . . . .


Somalia: Thousands displaced by fighting in Gedo
-Several thousand people have been displaced by clashes between Al-Shabab insurgents and Somali troops assisted by Ethiopian and Kenyan soldiers in Somalia's southwestern Gedo region, locals told IRIN.

"In the last couple of weeks, we have had some 5,000 people displaced by the conflict; we already had hundreds of families who were displaced," Mohamed Abdi Kaliil, governor of Gedo, told IRIN from Garbaharey, the regional capital. "We are trying to find some help for the displaced in our area but so far nothing."

Families have been "forced to move from one town to another and from one village to another", because of Al-Shabab activity, he told IRIN. "Their main aim is to hide from the violence; the people desperately need help with shelter, health, water and food."

The fighting has cut off the region from trade with the capital, Mogadishu, and the town of Baidoa, and public services have not fared any better. According to Kaliil, more than 10 health centres across Gedo region have closed due to the conflict.
Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

No 'near miss' principle in immigration cases, despite Article 8

The Court of Appeal has ruled that there is no Ònear missÓ principle in the application of the Immigration Rules. People who miss the five yearsÕ continuous residence requirement Ð even if by two weeks Ð will not have met the rules. There is no exception.
Read more: UK Human Rights Blog, March 14, 2012 by Henry Oliver


Country of Origin Information Report - DR Congo
Including: Events in the Democratic Republic Of Congo from 2 December 2011 To 29 February 2012. Reports on the Democratic Republic of Congo Published or Accessed Between 2 December 2011 And 29 February 2012
Refworld, 12/03/121

Country of Origin Information Report - Libya
Including: Events in LIBYA from 15 February 2012 to 5 march 2012. Reports on Libya published between 15 February 2012 and 5 March 2012
Refworld 12/03/12


Iraq: Surge in brutal killings of gay and 'Emo' youth
Young people who identify themselves as so-called Emos are being killed at an alarming rate in Iraq, where security forces say they are unable to stop crimes against the subculture that is widely perceived in the country as being homosexual. Human rights groups estimate as many as 58 Iraqis who were either gay or believed to be gay have been killed in the past six weeks alone, and experts fear a return to the rampant hate crimes against homosexuals seen in 2009. This year, eyewitnesses and human rights groups say some of the victims were bludgeoned to death by militiamen using concrete blocks. Emo is short for "emotional" and in the West generally identifies teens or young adults who listen to alternative music, dress in black, and have radical hairstyles. Emos are not necessarily gay, but are sometimes stereotyped as such.
Indpendent, 12/,03/12


Patrice Ndjonssy - Still Here
Didn't Fly he knows not why and UKBA won't tell him as is their want. He was taken to Colnbrook IRC Short Term Holding early yesterday in preparation for removal, around 21:00 he was informed his RD's had been cancelled.

Have been told that their were a few more who never got to the plane, some were taken onto a coach outside the IRC and then taken off at the last minute.

Meanwhile Escort pastings continue unabated. A Jamaican removee Mr. XX due to be bumped on Virgin Airways flight VS69 yesterday is back in detention with lumps and bruises he didn't have when he left the detention centre yesterday. Word from inside the IRC say he filed an asylum claim but his solicitors firm have been disbarred and the solicitor within the firm who was representing him his currently doing five years.

Detainees not removed have sent the following short message:

'To all who Emailed/faxed/rang, your efforts are never in Vain, knowing there are people outside fighting for us inside is solidarity that keeps us strong and willing to fight on until UKBA stop serving Removal Directions and give us leave to remain. Keep up the good work"


Nigerian asylum seeker saved from UK deportation by GSN article

John Abraham had his deportation flight cancelled after court swayed by Gay Star News article

Gay Star News, 10 March 2012, By Matthew Jenkin

John Abraham has had his deportation to Nigeria temporary halted.

Nigerian gay asylum seeker John Abraham was saved from being deported from the UK thanks to an article by Gay Star News.

John Abraham, 25, is currently in Colinbrook Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow airport, west London, and was due to be deported to Nigeria on Thursday evening (8 March).

However, after he asked Gay Star News to run an article on our site, naming him and detailing the dangers of sending him back to his native country, where he says he would face persecution and physical attacks, lawyers on his behalf obtained a court injunction delaying his deportation

Last updated 29 April, 2012