Malik Hamid

My name is Rabiah Mohamed and I am asking for your support for my partner Malik Hamid who is facing deportation to Sri Lanka. He came to this country in 2002 fleeing torture and beatings at the hands of the Sri Lankan army because he was suspected of helping the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Malik had been imprisoned by the Sri Lanka authorities but was later released after his father offered a bribe to the prison officers. Unfortunately, his freedom was short lived as the LTTE came looking for him accusing him of giving information about their activities to the Sri Lankan Army. Since Malik was not at home at that time, his brother was taken away instead. The next day his brother was found dead in the village. All these incidents led Malik to flee Sri Lanka as he knew his life was in danger because he could not escape from the LTTE as they have people in the community to inform them about his whereabouts.

Malik's asylum claim failed and he assumed that his legal representatives would lodge an appeal but this never happened. Malik was not aware of this; he had been evicted by NASS and for three years had been living on the mercy of friends.

He finally decided to write to the Home Office asking for permission to work but unfortunately he was turned down. Then a friend offered to help Malik by providing him with a false document in order for Malik to secure a job and that led to Malik being arrested for possessing 'false instruments' and he was sent to prison. Although he had completed his sentence he was detained pending deportation and is currently in Haslar IRC. I feel this is very unfair because Malik's intentions were good because he just wanted to get a job to support himself after his appeal to obtain permission to work was turned down by the Home Office.

At sentencing the judge imposed a term of imprisonment for the offence but also recommended that Malik should be deported, as his presence in the UK was 'not conducive to the public good'. Malik accepted and served the prison sentence for the offence but does not accept the recommendation to deport and is appealing against it.

As he has served time for the offence he committed, Malik has paid his debt to society and should not be punished further. I strongly feel the recommendation to deport Malik is a secondary punishment and therefore wrong.

Malik is a very good and honest man and he had lived in this country for more than four years. The vast majority of people in the UK have the right to work, only for asylum seekers is it a crime to work and they can only work if they commit the crime of obtaining false documents.

If he is deported I strongly believe that Malik's life will be in danger as his family members went missing since he left the country. They are believed to have been abducted by the LTTE and killed. This action is done to teach a lesson to the others not to cooperate with the Sri Lankan government. And as you are already aware the situation in Sri Lanka is very dangerous at the moment and it is not safe for anyone to be returned there.

Sri Lanka is once again in the midst of a civil war, several hundreds of people have been killed this year and 200.000 people displaced. The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised against all travel to North & East Sri Lanka.

I too am an asylum seeker from Sri Lanka, we have a daughter Sharifah, and when Malik was at home he was a loving and caring father to Sharifah and my other children, Faridah, Haseena, Amira and Nisha.

I am asking for your assistance to keep Malik in the UK.

What you can do to help
Attached is a model letter that you can copy/amend/write your own version. I will collect as many of these that I can to present to the Judge at Malik's appeal.

You can sign the model letter and return it to me by email to:
 rabiah68@hotmail.com

Or post to:

Malik Must Stay Campaign
C/0 NCADC
110 Hampstead Road
Birmingham
B20 2QS

Many thanks,
Rabiah Mohamed