ASYLUM FAMILY LOSES FIGHT TO STAY IN CITY
Ben Wright
South Wales Evening Post
November 27, 2007 Tuesday
Campaigners who have been fighting to stop a Swansea family being sent
back to Azerbaijan have warned they face a virtual death sentence on
their return.
Veneera Aliyeva and her young children are to be sent back to Baku
after losing their immigration fight.
Campaigners say the family fled their homeland after a brutal onslaught
of persecution and physical attacks.
But despite protests from thousands of their friends and well-wishers,
High Court judges threw out the St Thomas family’s case and said they
must be sent back to their homeland.
Keith Ross, of Asylum Justice, said: "I’m devastated the news that
our application for judicial review to deport Veneera Aliyeva and
her children has been rejected by the High Court.
"It’s a well known fact that Armenians and Christians are persecuted in
Azerbaijan. Veneera is both Armenian and Christian and on these grounds
alone, she and her children should qualify for humanitarian protection,
yet the Home Office persists in its claim she faces no risk on return."
Veneera, aged 40, along with children Anna, aged 13, and Murat Memedov,
aged 11, fled Azerbaijan fearing for their lives.
Mr Ross said the mum-of-two was the victim of a decade-long campaign
of intimidation and violence, while her husband and the children’s
father Seyit was abducted and has not been seen since 2005.
Campaigners say this was because of her ethnicity and her religious
beliefs.
For the past two years the family have been living in Ysgol Street,
St Thomas.
Neighbours described the family as well-liked and said they had
settled well into the area.
Pat Woods, aged 68, of Grafog Street, said: "The Memedovs are a
marvellous family."
But last month Veneera, Anna and Murat were seized by immigration
officers in a dawn raid.
Since then they have been anxiously waiting in Yarls Wood detention
centre, in the south of England, to find out whether they would win
a last-minute appeal.
But the High Court ruled the family can now be deported.
The news has stunned family and friends.
Rob McFenton, who manages Union Rangers, the football team Murat
played for, said: "I’m shell-shocked.
"Murat is great lad. He fitted in well and was a good player too.
"The news will be a big blow for the team."
Asylum Justice said they too were dumbfounded at the decision.
"In two-and-a-half-years of working closely with asylum seekers, I
have never come across a more deserving case," added Mr Ross. "Given
Veneera’s already fragile mental state, and the risks she faces on
return to Azerbaijan, this rejection is a virtual death sentence. I
simply cannot believe the government of my country could behave in such
a callous and unfeeling way towards vulnerable women and children."
Mr Ross is now begging Post readers to lobby Home Secretary Jacqui
Smith to step in at the last minute to allow the family to stay
in Swansea.
He said: "Our only hope now is personal appeals to the Home Secretary
for compassion.
"We need as many people as possible to contact her asking to exercise
her discretion and allow Veneera and her children to remain."
To help with the family’s campaign contact: Jacqui Smith MP, Secretary
of State for the Home Office, Third Floor, Peel Buildings, 2 Marsham
Street, London, SW1P 4DF or fax 02070 353262.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
