Petition Tag - asylum

Addressing an audience of diplomats in Geneva, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton called for the rights of gay people to be respected.

"Gay people are born into and belong to every society in the world," Mrs Clinton said.

"Being gay is not a Western invention. It is a human reality."Reacting angrily to Mrs Clinton's speech, Ugandan presidential adviser John Nagenda told the BBC: "That fellow [Mr Cameron] said the same thing. Now this woman [Clinton] is interfering.

"If the Americans think they can tell us what to do, they can go to hell."

Uganda is a staunch ally of the US, receiving military assistance to fight a local rebel group - the Lord's Resistance Army - and has sent troops to Somalia to fight the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group.

Mr Nagenda said Uganda would continue to co-operate with the US on security and other issues, but added: "If they are childish enough to take away aid, we'll see what we do [in response]."

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Mr King Eze Onuigbo arrived in the UK in 2001.He got married in the UK in 2008. The UKBA is now disputing the authenticity of his marriage and has subsequently withdrawn his residence permit. But the greater danger is that if he is removed to Nigeria, he would be harmed, if not killed in Nigeria because of political views and activism for Biafra actualisation.

On 20th November 2006, Mazi Onuigbo participated actively in disrupting the image-laundering project of the Nigerian government called ‘Nigeria Heart of Africa’, which took place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Hall. Till date, the Nigerian government is still looking for the protesters. Mazi King Onuigbo’s participation in that disruption can be viewed via this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=f5mNjp-ddvk

And the demonstration at the Nigerian High Commission at Northumberland Street can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R0WxiLKgYE

Furthermore, Mazi Onuigbo is a leader and not an ordinary member of a number of pro-Biafra organizations in the UK. He is the founder of Biafra Peace Movement, a member of Biafra Liberation in Exile (BILIE); the current president of the Good Shepherd Movement and former director of mobilisation Biafra Liberation League/MASSOB INTERNATIONAL.

The Home Office Operational Guidance note 2009 states that, "In the southeast over 600 people were arrested and detained during 2005 on suspicion of being members of MASSOB".

"Demonstrations in September 2005, following Biafra Day on 26 August 2005, claimed a reported 6 lives although other local reports indicated as many as 200 may have been killed by police. Ralph Uwazurike, the leader of the group, was arrested in October 2005 along with 6 of his deputies on treason charges."
"According to MASSOB figures, more than 100 MASSOB supporters were in detention as of March 2006".
“... those that take part in illegal demonstrations or other illegal activities [eg raising the
“Biafra” flag or being in possession of “Biafra” currency] may face arrest and
prosecution for any offences that have been committed"

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Asylum NOW for Proscovia – Ugandan Lesbian Activist standing for freedom and justice.

Stop deporting LGBT activists to persecution and death. Amnesty now for all immigrants – no more second class citizenship.

Proscovia is an open lesbian activist and a member of the Movement for Justice - a leader fighting for the rights and equality of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and for equality for everyone who faces discrimination and injustice. She is a refugee from Uganda where the LGBT community faces constant persecution and lives with the threat of death, where homosexuality is illegal and MPs in the ruling party are proposing a bill that would introduce a death sentence for lesbians & gay men. 

Like so many lesbians in nations where homosexuality is persecuted, Proscovia faced intense pressure to conform and to marry; she had to keep her relationships secret and lived in constant fear of discovery. 

Proscovia came to Britain after experiencing torture and rape. Now in Britain she is fighting for her right to stay, to be free from persecution and abuse, to live and love openly. She is fighting a Home Office asylum system that refuses to accept the truth about the danger facing LGBT people in Uganda and elsewhere and routinely deports asylum seekers to countries where they face torture or death.  

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Re: Asylum case of Mr Hadi Abdollahian holder of the UNHCR registration no 385-11C04414, reference number 2011/PLN/01217, national of Iran, born on 09/03/1991.

Dear UNHCR officer,

As a human rights activist, I am writing to express my deepest concerns regarding the status of the above-named asylum seeker whose application is currently under consideration in Turkey while he is waiting for his substantive interview to take place.

Whilst in Iran, due to his, and his father’s activities against the current regime, Hadi has been subject to such various ill-treatments as torture, rape, imprisonment and other forms of discriminatory behaviours, for which visual and medical evidences are available.

Hadi was the designer of two well-known websites both of which were later used to spread anti-regime materials. Evidence is accordingly available on the internet and shall be submitted to your office, too. Mr Abdollahian’s father, who was a senior airforce pilot during the previous regime of Iran, was killed in a suspicious road incident in Iran in 2008 following which the authorities refused to further pursue the case.

A brief summary of one of the events Hadi has be gone through would be as follows:

After the death his father, Hadi was contacted by the Intelligent Services agents, accused to be doing what his father was doing, and to be a Pan Azeri, and was thus forced to cooperate with them. During a meeting, he was told that those responsible for his father’s death will only be found if he accepts the cooperation. He was thereby forced by the agents to cooperate in Computer and IT related matters. Following the 2009 election and the Green Movement in Iran, and after observing what was being done to people, he decided to upload the clips taken from the event onto the internet, that is, to one of his well-known websites. This was action was perceived by the agents of the regime, upon which he gets summoned to the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tabriz, East Azerbaijan. Once he returns home from a short holiday, he gets beaten up very badly in front of their house by several members of the Basij force, following which he makes a note on his website describing the event. The next day, he gets arrested and blindfolded, and was taken to place that he describes as a “smelly basement”, where he was severely tortured, hit with pipes and thick sticks, sexually raped, abused, humiliated, and said that the next time he will end up dead. He is thereafter blindfolded again, and thrown out of a car in the countryside of his city, Ahar.

As a result of the aforementioned events, and various other incidents faced by Hadi, he is now suffering from severe Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), insomnia, nightmares, and is highly suicidal. He is also suffering from various physical difficulties such as constant backaches, headaches, heartburns, and is in serious need of medical investigation, hospitalisation and treatment.

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This is a petition to demand an immediate halt to the illegal deportation of Navid Mirpourzadeh (case no. 112408447), an Iranian asylum-seeker who has sought refuge in Sweden from persecution by the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has detained and tortured Navid for his political activism in Iran. The Swedish government intends to deport Navid back to his torturers on 19 August 2011.

Navid should be immediately released from detention and granted political asylum as is his right under international law:

1) Navid has a well-documented history of activism in support of freedom and against the Islamic Republic. He is an activist with Mission Free Iran, an organization that explicitly supports the downfall of the Islamic Republic regime in Iran. Navid has been visibly active organizing against the regime in Sweden, coordinating several demonstrations against the regime. He has also been a prominent defender of the rights of asylum-seekers to asylum, protection, and their right not to be sent back to a regime that is executing people daily.

As is well-known by the Swedish government, anti-regime activists are usually charged with propagating against the regime and moharebeh, which carries the death sentence in Iran.

2) The Islamic Republic considers all Iranian political asylum-seekers to be criminals, deeming their quest for asylum as propagating against the regime. The Islamic Republic has on several occasions declared and applied its intent to prosecute returned political asylum-seekers, on the basis of Article 7 of the Islamic Republic’s Penal Code.

3) It is illegal under international law for any country including Sweden to deport a person who has a legitimate fear of persecution in their home country. It is therefore undeniably illegal under the same international law for the Swedish government to participate in the crime of deporting Navid Mirpourzadeh to Iran, where he will be detained, tortured, and likely executed if he is returned to the bloody hands of the Islamic Republic.

سابقه و هدف (مقدمه) :
این طومار تقاضای توقف فوری تبعید غیر قانونی نوید میرپورزاده (مورد: 112408447)، یک ایرانی پناهجوست که ازتعقیب، شکنجه و آزار توسط جمهوری اسلامی ایران فرار کرده و به کشور سوئد پناه آورده است. در برابر است که بازداشت و شکنجهبرای پی فعالیت های سیاسی خود در ایران است. دولت سوئد، به جای پناهندگی، نوید را بازداشت کرده، و در نظر دارد که در تاریخ 19 اوت 2011 نوید را از کشور سوئد اخراج و تحویل به شکنجه گران جمهوری اسلامی ایران دهد.

تحت قوانین بین المللی، نوید باید فورا از زندان آزاد شده، وحق خود را به عنوان یک پناهنده سیاسی دریافت نماید:

1) نوید دارای سابقه مستند فعالیت علیه جمهوری اسلامی و در حمایت از آزادی است. او یکی از فعالان سازمان Mission Free Iran است که به صراحت از سقوط رژیم جمهوری اسلامی در ایران پشتیبانی می کند. نوید در سازماندهی تظاهرات متعددی در سوئد علیه رژیم ایران نقش فعالی داشته است. او همچنین مدافع برجسته حقوق سایر پناهجویان ایرانی در سوئد بوده است که از فرستادن آنها به ایران، کشوری که هنوز مردم در ان روزانه اعدام میشوند، جلوگیری کند.

همانطور که دولت سوئد به خوبی با این مساله آشناست، فعالان ضد رژیم معمولا با اتهام تبلیغ علیه نظام و محاربه به اعدام محکوم میشوند.

2) از نظر جمهوری اسلامی، همه پناهجویان سیاسی، و آنان که برای پناهندگی خود در خارج از ایران تلاش میکنند، جنایاتکار هستند و به تبلیغ علیه نظام اشتغال دارند و جمهوری اسلامی قصد خود را در مورد چنین اشخاصی صریحا اعلام کرده است که، بر اساس ماده 7 قوانین مجازات جمهوری اسلامی، پناهجویان سیاسی و بازگشتگان تحت تعقیب قرار خواهند گرفت.

3) تحت قوانین بین المللی، این برای هر کشوری، از جمله سوئد، غیرقانونی است که یک پناهنده سیاسی را از کشوری که به آن پناه آورده تبعید کرده، و به کشوری که از آن از ترس آزار و شکنجه فرار نموده است برگردانند! از این رو، تحت قوانین بین المللی، برگرداندن نوید میرپورزاده به ایران برای دولت سوئد نه تنها یک کار غیر قانونی است، بلکه به منظور شرکت در جرم و جنایت بر علیه نوید حساب خواهد شد، چرا که بازگشت نوید به ایران به بازداشت، شکنجه، و به احتمال زیاد به اعدام او بدست خونین جمهوری اسلامی منجر خواهد شد.

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Mrs S is an Egyptian woman, who we're campaigning for to have her case for asylum reconsidered. She and her two children have been rejected in their third and final appeal for asylum.

A few years ago, they fled violence, rape and inevitable female genital mutilation for sanctuary in the UK. Mrs S describes how they finally "felt human" here. They felt free, being able to live their everyday lives without fear.

For more information, please see: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Give-Her-Sanctuary/106049906154255

Please sign our petition to the Home Secretary to simply reconsider their case, asking them to look again at the evidence that we think was unfairly dismissed.

This is a community-led campaign, supported by the National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns (NCADC) and the Lush Cosmetics shops in Wales. We're helping to spread the word and to gather signatures from as many people as possible.

Please sign our petition, and share this with everyone.

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We are a group of rights activists from UK and would like bring to your notice an urgent matter which has gone unnoticed.

The deportation of failed Disabled women asylum seekers irrespective of which ever country they belong to should be stopped as it is a straight violation of basic human rights. It is extremely inhuman to send back disabled women asylum seekers as they already have lot to cope with. Rules are for human beings and especially should be in favour of humans for whom life has not been fair.

Imagine a paraplegics life who is being deported and sent back to a country where she may face ill treatment or destitution. Especially disabled women asylum seekers are more vulnerable in their countries due to lack of amenities and possible exploitation by mentally sick and perverted people apart from their possible persecutors.

The inhuman practice or disregard and insensitiveness towards failed disabled woman asylum seekers should be immediately stopped and also their detention. The care of these failed disabled woman asylum seekers should be entrusted to other able bodied asylum seekers (Women) under the community service work . This will greatly reduce the pressure on the system and people from the same backgrounds can also integrate easily reducing the isolation stress. The aim is that we build a much more humane society with decrease in the burden on the present infrastructure and manpower.

UK has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2009 but in practice it is slipping on the issue of the world's most vulnerable ones- DISABLED WOMEN ASYLUM SEEKERS and especially the ones who have failed. It has been learnt that UKBA ( United Kingdom Border Agency) has shown utter insensitivity towards them.

We urge you to protect the disabled women asylum seekers and not to be deported irrespective of any country they belong to. We request you to undertake this very seriously as the human rights levels in the civilised world are slowly decaying. It is the first world where we need to contain the basic degradation of human rights which goes unnoticed due to the turmoil around the world.

We request you to write and pursue this matter with Mr David Cameron,PM of Uk, Mr. Nick Clegg, Deputy PM of UK and also Ms. Theresa May , Home secretary of state. Infact deportation of Disabled Women Asylum seekers should be stopped worldwide inorder to restore the basic human rights values to the ones who need them the most.

Looking forward to a positive development and a assertive action to stop the deportation of Disabled women asylum seekers.

Thanks and regards,

Mark Grant

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Free Edson Cosmas – Gay Tanzanian Activist standing for freedom and justice - detained in UK detention centre.

Stop deporting gay activists to persecution and death.

Amnesty now for all immigrants – no more second class citizenship.

Edson is a prominent, openly gay activist, member of Movement for Justice, and a leader fighting to bring forward the rights and equality of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and achieve greater equality.

Edson came to the UK as a student to be able to develop himself in a country where for the first time he could really be himself. He was known to be gay in Tanzania, where homosexuality is illegal and carries prison sentences of 25 years, and gay and lesbian activists are targeted for arrest. He has been attacked, beaten and denounced in Tanzania because of his sexuality – a typical experience for LGBTI people who are ‘out’. But in the UK instead of safety LGBTI people find detention, fast-track and the threat of deportation into even greater danger.

Edson Cosmas is not safe in Tanzania – Free Edson now!

Additional: If you have information, contacts or experience about LGBTI refugees from Tanzania please message us with your contact details.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Edson-Cosmas/224079517608222?sk=info

www.movementforjustice.org

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Semere is Eritrean young man. He sought asylum in Italy, but his wife and 2 children were in the UK. He came to the UK, so he could be with them and sought asylum here. He is about to be deported back to Italy on Wednesday 2 March 2011, despite having his 2 little children here.

He hates the idea of being removed from his children. He is a loving father and a devoted Christian. We trust God that he will be reunited with his family and the deportation will be refused on compassionate grounds.

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My name is Robert Aweet. I am of mixed heritage, my father was Sudanese and my mother was Somalian. I came to England to seek asylum because of the civil war situation in Somalia, where I lived with my mother. My father had died of an illness when I was younger.

I fled Somalia to Kenya, after my mother was shot dead in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. I spent many years on the run, in between the Kenyan refugee camps and Somalia. I had to leave Somalia permanently and supported myself in Kenya through fishing. I came to England from Nairobi to seek asylum due to the harassment of refugees in Kenya. I was regularly arrested and beaten by the Kenyan police.

I sought Asylum in Liverpool in 2009. When I arrived I was taken to detention and then given housing by the government while I waited for my claim to be processed. After 4 court cases my claim was rejected. This is because the government dispute my nationality despite expert witnesses testifying otherwise. I was then kicked out of my accommodation; I became homeless for eight months. During this time I became very ill and I was diagnosed with TB. My deportation order was postponed, but I am now again threatened with deportation.

I am displaced, I have no place to call home and no community to return to. I have built a life in Sheffield, I now have many friends here. This is my home.

I am appealing to the home office to give me leave to remain; I would really appreciate your signature.

Thank you.

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Disability rights activist Peter Gichura, who has lived in Croydon, UK since 2001, has received a Removal Order from the Home Office, which will force him to return to Kenya and leave the life he has built in the UK.

Despite the difficulties Peter has faced as an asylum seeker, he has spent his time positively, successfully completing NVQ level 4 in accounting and doing voluntary work and activities with Payday men’s network, WinVisible (women with visible and invisible disabilities), Leonard Cheshire Disability, Westminster Action Network on Disability, and his local church. Peter is an active and well-respected member of his local community, with many friends and networks in the UK.

Peter was instrumental in establishing a disabled persons’ organisation in Kenya, advocating for the rights of disabled street sellers. He fled in 2001 to escape anti-Kikuyu persecution against disability activists.

Whilst in the UK, Peter has made good use of his skills, by being involved in campaigns to improve access to public services for disabled people, including London buses.

Peter has made a significant contribution to the disabled people’s movement in the UK. As an asylum seeker, he was detained in Harmondsworth in 2006, without accessible washing and toilet facilities, not given the correct medication, and subjected to painful body searches. With the support of WinVisible and Payday, Peter challenged the Home Office and Kalyx, the company that runs Harmondsworth detention centre, using the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).

In May 2008 the Court of Appeal made a precedent ruling on his DDA case -- that all disabled people in custody before December 2006 do have the protection of anti-discrimination legislation.

During the plane journey to the UK in 2001 Peter was manhandled, causing his spinal injury to worsen. He has gone from using crutches to using a wheelchair, and relies on medical treatment without which he would die. In 2006, he applied for asylum on that basis: "As someone with spinal injury I am vulnerable to chronic kidney infection and need sanitary living conditions to survive – but there is no running water where I am from in Nyahururu, Kenya. I cannot afford medical treatment – and there is no free healthcare." Expert evidence confirmed this but was ignored, and Peter’s claim was turned down.

Removal now would put Mr Gichura’s health and life at serious and immediate risk.

Above all, Peter has built his life in the UK, has contributed to society through his active commitment to voluntary and community groups. Peter has the skills and experience that will help him to build a career, he has a job offer, and will thus be able to support himself financially if he is given leave to remain in the UK.

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Allen is a 28 year old man from Zimbabwe who arrived in the UK on a visitors visa in 2001. He left Zimbabwe in order to escape forced military service under Robert Mugabe’s ZANU-PF regime.

Allen grew up living in government housing allocated to military, police and government officials, a situation which made avoidance of forced military obligations impossible. Upon arrival Allen made contact with his Uncle who was residing in the UK, and whom arranged for Allen’s asylum process to be dealt with by a solicitor.

On three occasions (in 2001, 2004, 2006), the solicitor returned Allen’s passport to him with stamps extending his stay. Unbeknown to Allen, these stamps turned out to be counterfeits, the scammer posing as a solicitor is currently serving a prison sentence for producing fake Home Office Documents. It was not until he was arrested for dangerous driving in 2007 that Allen realised that the stamps were fake, having used his passport for UK government correspondents in the past.

Having served half of a nine month prison sentence for the driving offence, Allen has spent the last three years in Immigration Detention Centres around the UK, his asylum application upon arrest having been rejected.

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Let Ahmad Fahim Akbari and his family stay.

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ZANU PF is a party that for the last 30 years has thrived from suffocating other political opponents who do not support the party. Zimbabweans have been killed and died at the hands of ZANU PF supporters and militias because of supporting or belonging to other political parties other than ZANU PF.

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Home Office Ref: S1391610/2

Shrouk El-Attar has been living in the UK for the last three years, she feels that she can express herself openly here and has a large community of friends around her but she is now under threat of deportation back to Egypt.

At age 16, Shrouk ‘came out’ as being gay to her friends and expressed her sexuality on ‘facebook’. In 2010, Shrouk decided to claim asylum as a refugee under the 1951 Geneva Convention to which the UK is a signatory. A Tribunal Court dismissed her claim for asylum on the 25th of October 2010.

On hearing about the dismissal of her claim for asylum Shrouk stated:

“I’m terrified about the possibility of being forcibly deported to Egypt. As a gay person, life in Egypt would be impossible for me. I would never be able to express my true self and would have to live my life in hiding.”

Shrouk fears that if she were to return to Egypt she would be persecuted by both the Egyptian authorities and by her own extended family. She is afraid that she will be forced into marriage, suffer Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and risk an honour killing if she resists.

We believe that the current Home Office policy of considering Egypt as a “safe” country does not reflect the reality of cases like hers.

If you would like to get involved or to be updated on Shrouk’s campaign, please e-mail savetheshrouk@hotmail.co.uk or join the facebook group ‘Asylum for Shrouk El-Attar’

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Jean Michel, who has been under the care of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture
had submitted a medico legal report documenting the torture he had suffered, however, a caseworker at UKBA rejected the professional opinion of an experienced medical practitioner trained by the Medical Foundation.

In Kinshasa, in October 2010 a Congolese man, resident in Belgium, was killed whilst in custody, The regime of President Kabila stands accused in the Human Rights Watch report of November 2008 of the systematic killing of 500 members of the opposition and the imprisonment, rape and torture of hundreds of others in Kinshasa and Western Congo. It is of great concern that Jean Michel will be targeted by the
regime, as he is a political activist and his broadcasts have been viewed in the Congo.

Between 2007 and 2010 nine Congolese were forcibly removed from the Tees Valley following the refusal of their asylum claims. All were the victims of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including torture and rape on their return to Kinshasa. All had been assured by the Home Office that it was safe for them to return to DRC... However, all had their human rights violated, including small children who were imprisoned for up to 3 months. Fiona Hall MEP highlighted her concerns about this in a speech in the European Parliament in September 2010. ‘In order to protect the wider interests of the community and the rights of the public, it is vital for the UK to maintain effective immigration control’.

UKBA in a letter refusing sanctuary to Jean Michel Bomvoy took the view that on balance it was acceptable to send a man, who has already suffered torture, back to face further human rights violations.

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Mit Must Stay! Stop the deportation!

Make every college a Sanctuary College
Make London a Sanctuary City

Mit Singh Chopra is a 19 year old Sikh man, from Afghanistan, and a student at Westminster Kingsway College.

On Friday 24th September at 6am immigration police came into Mit Chopra’s home and took him into detention under threat of deportation.

All black, Asian and Latino, Turkish or Kurdish student face the threat of racial stereotyping, suspicion and harassment when an anti-immigrant climate is tolerated.

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Norway has denied asylum to Iranians Hushang Parsa and Hamid Gorbani, who identify with the anti-government Green Movement and who fear for their lives if they should be returned to Iran.

The Islamic Republic brutally represses peaceful protesters, journalists, students, and human rights activists within its borders:

Neda Agha Soltan was shot dead in the street, simply for walking among peaceful protesters in June 2009. Mohammad Valian, a 20-year old boy whose only “crime” was calling for freedom and throwing a rock, was sentenced to death. Thousands have been arrested after the 2009 protests. Hundreds of people have been executed.

Under these circumstances, any effort by Norway to forcibly return Hushang Parsa and Hamid Gorbani clearly and egregiously violates of the principle of non-refoulement: “no refugee should be returned in any manner whatsoever to any country where he or she would be at risk of persecution.” Norway has signed the Convention and Protocol on the Status of Refugees, where this principle is enshrined.

Hushang Parsa and Hamid Gorbani warrant refugee status and protection under UN conventions. Norway must recognize the implications of its act in these two cases: violating the principle of non-refoulement will have dire consequences for refugees worldwide, especially for thousands of Iranian refugees surviving precariously in Turkey, Greece and Iraq.

The world does not want these countries to follow a poor example set by Norway.

Please see the following letter-writing campaign for an action that will have immediate impact!
http://missionfreeiran.org/2010/09/26/hamid-and-hushang-stay/

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Sanctuary for Mrs S and family

Home Office ref: S1391610

Mrs S and two of her children arrived in the UK in November 2007 after suffering 15 years of violence in Egypt. Her youngest daughter remained behind and was helped by the Home Office to be reunited with the family safely in the UK. Despite this her case has now been refused and all rights of appeal have been exhausted. The whole family is under serious threat of honour-based violence and possibly even death if deported back to Egypt.

Mrs S has been seeking sanctuary from an abusive and cruel husband whose acts endangered her and her children’s lives for over 15 years to the extent of death and rape. The Egyptian authorities ignored this domestic abuse as her husband has close links with police, judges and other officials.

Mrs S should be granted international protection under the UN Refugee Convention as she holds a real and well-founded fear of persecution of her own life and that of her family. We call upon the Immigration Minister to grant Mrs S and her children the right to remain in the UK on compassionate grounds.

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Zubair Gharghasht will face real risk of serious harm and death from the government, the Taliban and from the family dispute if he is forcibly removed to Afghanistan. Zubair is an Afghan asylum seeker in the UK. He had to flee Afghanistan because of his political activities. He fears for his life.

Officially he is accused of leaking confidential information to the press on governmental corruption and he is a suspect of kidnap and murder and there is an arrest warrant for him. He faces at least 20 years imprisonment for leaking confidential information or even death penalty if convicted for kidnap and murder. His asylum plea and first appeal were refused and he now is in the process of his second appeal.

Zubair needs and deserves asylum in the UK. Join the Let Zubair Stay Campaign in fighting for Zubair to remain in the UK!

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I am writing to you in support of Ms Flora O and her children, to be granted asylum in Britain.

Flora and her children fled to Britain from Nigeria in April 2005, after Flora’s ex-husband repeatedly beat her and forced her only daughter to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM). The baby died as a result. Flora has since had another daughter and also has two little boys. Flora now suffers from depression and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

The Home Office has refused Flora’s application for asylum with disregard for her and her children’s welfare. They face the real possibility of being targeted again by members of her ex-husband’s family.

If sent back to Nigeria, Flora and her children would be condemned to a life of severe poverty and no social security. The family will not have means of support.

If deported to their home country, Flora’s 4-year-old daughter would likely be force to go through FGM and the family would likely be persecuted again and/or killed.

Flora and her children have been building a new life for themselves here and are settled and integrated into the community in Swinton, Greater Manchester, where Flora volunteers in a charity shop and the children go to school. They want the opportunity to rebuild their life.

Home Office Ref: O1107504

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The St. Vincent de Paul Society in Yaounde confirmed to the Home Office on the 27th April 2010 that the choice of a sucessor to a Bamileke Paramount Chief is shrouded in the utmost secrecy and a plea was made to the Minister to protect Anselme’s life.

Nobody but the Kingmaker and notables would be aware of what the initiation ceremony entailed. Anselme was chosen to succeed his father as Paramount Chief but rejected the animist practices he would have been forced to observe and the practice of polygamy, as they were contrary to his Christian faith.

Anselme had been baptised by Fr. Agapitus Ffon, the Head of the Major Seminary and had attended church with his mother. He had not lived in the village and being chosen as successor at his father’s funeral was a shock to him. Anselme was held captive and was severely tortured to force him to comply with tradition.

Close family helped him escape and secured him safe passage to the UK, where he asked for sanctuary at Heathrow airport. Archbishop Joseph Atanga has confirmed that Anselme must face self exile or face possible death. There can be no new Paramount Chief until Anselme is dead. Anselme was sent back to Cameroon a few weeks ago.

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The Rabe family arrived here two years ago in order to care for an elderly family member who was suffering from multiple illnesses.

Mr Rabe is now a self-employed mechanic and his family are settled here. He does not claim benefits but provides a service to his community. His eldest child is in the middle of taking GCSE exams, and to uproot them now would cause severe disruption both to their lives and to that of Mr Rabe's elderly mother who relies on the family for her care.

Mr Rabe told a Staffordshire newspaper:
""I do not want any benefits in Britain, I have paid the rent on my house by working all day as a mechanic.

"I have used all my savings to look after my mother and to try to stay in this country. It is very wrong that asylum seekers stay here and get money from the state. I have never asked for a penny and I would never ask for anything.

"I need to stay here and want to look after my mother. She needs help with basic things like getting to the shops.""

It is a documented fact that white people in SA are often the victims of violent crime and racist attacks. Since 1994, more than 3,000 white farmers have been murdered in what some are calling a genocide.

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The UK government through its Border Agency has decided not to give priority to the asylum application of Iraqi LGBT leader Ali Hili, in exile in London. The application has been outstanding for nearly three years and while it is outstanding, Ali cannot travel.

This decision directly impacts not just on Ali but on harshly persecuted Iraqi lesbians and gays through the reduced ability of their sole visible leader to raise their profile internationally.

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As you may be aware, numerous human rights organisations and journalists have documented the pogrom against lesbians and gays in Iraq. Iraqi LGBT estimates that over 700 LGBT have been assassinated over the past few years. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has advised 'favourable consideration' for asylum claims because of the situation.

Hili has received many requests to speak internationally, including from the US, which he has been unable to pursue. His solicitor, Barry O'Leary, wrote to the UK Border Agency (UKBA) in August 2009 that: "he desperately wishes to do this [travel] in order to further the aims of his organisation, that is, supporting lesbians and gay men in Iraq and bringing the world's attention to their plight."

Six months later, the UKBA told O'Leary that:

* the assistance given by Hilli to the Foreign Office "does not count"
* the fatwa does not mean that Hilli "falls within the classification of clear and immediate vulnerability"
* that the delay in deciding Hilli's asylum case (since July 2007) "is not in itself an exceptional circumstance"
* his case is not "compelling"

The UK Foreign Office Human Rights Report for 2009 specifically names Iraqi LGBT over other NGOs as a key source of information. Hili has met with them numerous times. The report quotes Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell condemning persecution of LGBT in Iraq.

Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant wrote in his blog on Feb. 24: "I know some people dismiss LGBT rights as something of a sideshow in international relations, but I am proud to say that the FCO has argued for a decade that human rights are a seamless garment."

Yet the same government through the Home Office is effectively aiding that persecution through the failure of government recognition to Iraqi LGBT's leader.

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PETITION SUMMARY

Without the right to work, asylum seekers are paralyzed economically, psychologically, intellectually and socially. This leads us to confusion which leads to stress and eventually to extreme forms of depression. It feels like the government has given up on our lives. This has a negative impact on the progression of the nation and giving up on the lives of asylum seekers feels like giving up on the nation.

“My name is Adam and I come from Darfur, Sudan. I would like to tell you about the Brighter Futures’ campaign for asylum seekers to have the right to work. I want to tell you about this because I know what life looks like for people like me who escaped from genocide in Darfur. The Home Office takes too long to decide our cases – and when you know your story is true this is very hard. This means you’re just staying at home, and you get bored with the TV. You can’t work – you see yourself growing up but you can’t do anything with your life. We’d like permission to work for everyone who’s been here for more than six months. If they don’t change this today, tomorrow for me will be too late.” Adam Teneh, 19, from Darfur

Brighter Futures is a self advocacy group for young asylum seekers and refugees, who are campaigning for all young asylum seekers aged 16 and over to have the right to work from six months after arriving in the UK. Brighter Futures is also calling for the Home Office to make it easier for young asylum seekers who do have the right to work to prove this.

We believe asylum seekers should have the right to work because:

• We need financial independence to satisfy our basic needs such as food, shelter, transport and education.
• We can then contribute to the economy through taxes.
• We can then relieve the burden on the benefits system.
• We can then integrate better with our local communities.
• We can change the image of asylum seekers - we want human dignity and respect.
• It enables the Government to reduce social problems such as asylum seekers being exploited by having to work illegally.

Finally, we get to grow financially, intellectually, emotionally and in confidence - as every human being has the right to for a brighter future.

We hope that this petition will compel the government to take a positive policy decision rather than believing the myths about asylum seekers. If the government truly believes in human rights, they must understand that not being able to work feels like the loss of our lives. Understanding the situation and taking into account these issues, we hope you will support our campaign.

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Noelle has lived in the UK for 6 years. Her previous political involvement and that of her father led to Noelle being imprisoned, where she was assaulted, beaten and tortured. She has submitted medical evidence confirming her ill-treatment.

The adjudicators have accepted that, had she come straight to the UK in 1995, she would have been granted asylum.

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Volcaloid & Volcaloid2 Character Vocal series is a music program. They have made videos with this music. There is one song in particular, "Festival of Asyum" that I am targeting.

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Malcolm X Grassroots Movement is an organization comprised of New African/Black people whose mission is to defend the human rights of our people and promote self-determination in our communities. We aim to fulfill our purpose through various programs and initiatives we do in our communities.

It is vital that we come together to support what is just and fair. If we don't stand up in support of one another's struggles, despite of our individual efforts we will not as a community, go far. We encourage you to check out our website www.mxgm.org to find out more about the work we do.

We are campaigning in support of a sister by the name of Assata Shakur. Assata Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party who currently has political asylum in Cuba because of her political activity while she was in the United States. Assata Shakur stands as a symbol of freedom for many people in the US and we'd like to ensure that she remains unharmed. We are appealing to the Cuban Government because we know that they have the power to keep Assata safe.

This year marking the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution, we'd like to celebrate Cuba's historic achievement while also gaining assurance that Assata will remain unscathed. Please read over our letter and join us in solidarity!

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Victor Hugo Yogane had a successful business in Cameroon selling music CDs and cassettes. He was arrested and tortured in 2006 when he sought a permit to sell a CD of political songs critical of the government. He fled the country leaving his daughter behind in the care of extended family members. He claimed asylum in the UK in 2006.

Madeleine Naka is Victor’s partner. She had already been detained and tortured for her political affiliations and had fled from the threat of further violence a year earlier. She arrived in the UK while she was six months pregnant and claimed asylum. Eventually Victor and Madeleine were reunited by the Red Cross. Their two sons were born here and have never known life in Cameroon. The family has begun a new life in Sheffield, where they attend church and have made many friends.

However, the Yogane family now live in fear of being forcibly removed from the UK to Cameroon, which is a dangerous country for people like them, active opponents of its corrupt government. They fear for their lives if they are deported.

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