ASYLUM FAMILY FACE PERSECUTION CLAIM: A SWANSEA FAMILY FACE PERSECUTION IF THEY ARE DEPORTED TO AZERBAIJAN, A HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP SAYS
Ben Wright, ben.wright@swwmedia.co.uk
South Wales Evening Post, UK
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Oct 31 2007
Veneera Aliyeva and her children Anna, aged 13, and Murat Memedov,
aged 11, were seized by immigration officers in a dawn raid over
the weekend.
Asylum Justice fears the family, who are in a detention centre in
Bedfordshire, will be targeted because of their Christian beliefs if
they are returned to Azerbaijan.
Keith Ross, of Asylum Justice, said: "This is one of the most
distressing cases I have ever witnessed.
"Veenera should be allowed to stay because of the risk she and her
children face. When her husband Seyit arrived back in Azerbaijan in
2005, he was arrested and has not been seen or heard of since.
"Veenera is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
"We are seriously worried for her and her children."
The Memedov family fled Azerbaijan in 2003 after suffering more than
a decade of brutality.
Mr Ross said this was because of their faith and Veenera’s Armenian
ancestry.
"Veneera married an Azeri who knew about her ethnicity and kept it
from his wider family and friends," he added.
"She was secretly baptised in the Baptist Church in Baku.
"In 2002, police took the whole congregation to the police station
where they were interviewed separately.
"Veneera was accused of abusing Islam, hit and then raped twice."
But after less than 12 months in the UK, the family’s pleas to stay
were unsuccessful and they were returned to the Muslim country.
Mr Ross said this was the last time Veenera saw her husband alive.
"On arrival, Seyit was arrested and taken away in handcuffs," he said.
"The family did not see him again."
And in May last year, the family fled to the UK once more – this time
setting up home in Ysgol Street, St Thomas.
"This family has been through hell and back," added Mr Ross.
"Since her return, Veneera has been treated for acute anxiety,
frequent severe panic attacks, dizziness and sleep disorders."
And now friends and campaigners worry the 40-year-old mum-of-two is
on the verge of suicide after her appeal against the Home Office’s
second refusal was turned down.
They will be put on a plane tomorrow and send back to Azerbaijan.
Mr Ross said: "The family did not realise the application had been
rejected until immigration officers unlocked their door at 7am on
Sunday. Some people may say they should be sent back to where they
belong, but I have never seen such a strong case for asylum.
Azerbaijan is safe for neither Armenians or Christians."
The Home Office said it had dealt with the Ysgol Street family’s case
sensitively and had given them every opportunity to appeal against
their deportation.
A spokesman for the Border and Immigration Agency said: "Immigration
officers will only remove families who are in the UK unlawfully after
they have been given every opportunity to appeal.
"A family will have had abundant prior notification they are in the
UK illegally and will have been asked to make arrangements for their
voluntary departure.
"It is when individuals fail to leave the UK voluntarily that our staff
are tasked with enforcing their removal from the UK. All our officers
involved treat all members of the family as sensitively as possible."
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress