What's the Home Office motive for trying to remove so many to the DR Congo now?

*** What you can do to try and stop a removal to the DR Congo

*** What you can do to lobby for a "freeze" on removals to the DR Congo

Maguy Kisungu and Jemima from DR Congo were detained in a dawn raid
in Glasgow yesterday. It should have been Jemima's first day at
Bellahouston Primary School. Little Jemima had been very excited
about going to school. Instead now she is behind bars in Dungavel
Detention Centre. Facing removal to DR Congo on the 20th August.

Extrajudicial executions, arbitrary arrests and torture on a daily
basis in the DR Congo
"Extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings, arbitrary
arrests, unlawful detentions, acts of torture or ill-treatment, and
life-threatening prison conditions continued on a daily basis" -
Amnesty International Report 2007 - Democratic Republic of Congo

The DR Congo "Country Guidance" case
The "BK" case is a Country Guidance case (Appeal No. AA/04958/2006)
due to heard on September 17th and is intended to give guidance to
Immigration Judges in assessing asylum claims by Congolese asylum
seekers. The BK case seeks to challenge the Home Office's claim that
there is no risk on return to the DR Congo to "refused" asylum
seekers and will hear what many describe as "overwhelming" evidence
of the possible intimidation, torture and imprisonment by DR Congo
authorities of deportees. If BK's appeal is allowed, it will result
in "case-law" from which it is anticipated that many other Congolese
asylum seekers could benefit.

Why are the Home Office trying to deport so many to DR Congo now?
Many feel it is a cynical and blatant attempt by the Home Office to
get rid of as many Congolese asylum seekers as possible before
case-law established by the BK goes against them.

They have done it before - little more than one week ahead of the
original planned opening of the BK case in March, the Home Office
rounded up and deported those 40 Congolese asylum seekers on 26th
February. The BK case was in fact later adjourned to July, and later
adjourned again, part heard, to 17th September 2007, which is why
many feel the Home Office has organised another "deportation charter"
flight now.

There seems to have been a pattern of the Home Office rounding up,
detaining and deporting asylum seekers of a given nationality just
prior to a "Country Guidance" case being heard or the judgement being
handed down:
* Zimbabweans and the "AA" Country Guidance case (since been
superseded by HS case).
* Sudanese asylum seekers and the "HMGO" Country Guidance case in March 2007
* Sri Lankan asylum seekers and the "LP" Country Guidance case
earlier this month (August 2007)

UK officers personally hands deportees over in the airport to the DR
Congo authorities
Even if a deportee had no history of persecution in the DR Congo,
they may be branded a political dissident simply because they claimed
asylum in Europe, and as such, could face imprisonment and torture on
return. ALL DR Congo deportees are in danger because they risk being
interrogated at the airport to see if there is a political "charge"
against them, or just to extort a "fine". Some don't have any means
to pay a "fine" and may be imprisoned, possibly indefinitely. The
Home Office admits that DR Congo prison conditions are "life
threatening", synonymous with disease, hunger, abuse, torture and
death, and, are "likely to reach the Article 3 threshold".

The DR Congo authorities know which passengers are deportees because
a UK officer personally hands them over in the airport - the response
to a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that "the detainee
and the Detainee Custody Officers (DCOs) are usually the last people
to leave the aircraft. The detainee is personally handed over to the
local authorities by the DCOs. The documentation identifying the
detainee is passed to the local official accepting the detainee."

Lufu Ndombasi deported from UK last month to DR Congo - detained and
"disappeared"
The Ndombasi family were snatched from their home in Bolton on 20th
July 2007 and deported the next day to the DR Congo. Reportedly, Mr
Ndombasi was detained on arrival by the DR Congo authorities and his
family and friends have heard no news from him - he has become one of
the disappeared. The mother told supporters in the UK that she and
her son have been harassed by the DR Congo authorities and have now
gone into hiding.

Background;
21 Children & 17 adult DR Congolese to be deported by 'Charter Flight'
 http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/oldnewszines/newszine79/charter2.html

UK Government publicly condemns abusive regimes and quietly deports
their victims back to them, under the legal-radar
 http://www.ncadc.org.uk/emmaginnsfolder/emmaginnsfolder/aug%2007/CynicalBlatant.htm

Photo above: protestors sit down in the street, demonstrating
against deportations to DR Congo.

What you can do:
If you are a refused DR Congo asylum seeker and are given "removal directions"
If any DR Congo refused asylum seekers are detained and given removal
directions, we suggest they seek legal advice immediately and to see
if it might be possible for each individual case to be challenged by
way of further representations to the Home Office on the basis of the
BK case and the evidence which the Home Office is in possession of.
Also, to see if may be possible to legally challenge any rejection by
the Home Office of any such further representations by way of
judicial review and injunction as the evidence in the BK case is
thought to pass the fresh claim test.
Further info including a potentially useful court order;
 http://www.ncadc.org.uk/archives/filed%20newszines/Newszine84/DRCremovals.htm

If you are a refused DR Congo asylum seeker, have been given "removal
directions" for 'Thursday 30th August, at 14:00hrs, Flight number
PVT616' that may include the words "Operation Castor", and you do not
have a legal representative
NCADC may be able to put you in touch will a well-respected
immigration solicitor who can represent you for free. Please note
this would specifically be for asylum seekers who get "removal
directions" as a part of "Operation Castor" only. We would need the
following information about you:
* Full names of asylum seeker and any dependents
* Date of birth(s)
* Port ref no. and Home Office ref no.
* Date, time, flight number of your "removal directions"
We may then ask you to fax the solicitor:
* Copy of your "removal directions"
* Copy of your "factual summary" from Immigration (if you don't have
one you should request one)
* Signed and dated instructions to the solicitor to act on your behalf

Early Day Motion (EDM) 1729
Early Day Motion (EDM) 1729 was laid down by Rudi Vis MP on the 19th June 2007.
COUNTRY GUIDANCE TRIBUNAL ON THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
"That this House maintains that, in the light of the imminent Country
Guidance tribunal on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), due to
commence in July, which will address risk on return for failed asylum
seekers from this country, all further deportations and removals to
DRC should be suspended until the case has been heard and a decision
reached, as it would be imprudent to return DRC nationals if there is
a possibility that credible evidence may be presented in the tribunal
to demonstrate that there is a real and substantial risk of serious
ill treatment of returned asylum seekers."
 http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=33553&SESSION=885

EDM 1729 and has been signed by 53 MPs:
Rudi Vis, Alan Meale, Andrew George, Peter Bottomley, Jeremy Corbyn,
Lynne Jones, Chris McCafferty, Mark Durkan, Robert N Wareing, Mike
Weir, Kelvin Hopkins, David Drew, Clive Efford, Paul Flynn, Mike
Hancock, Karen Buck, Vincent Cable, Betty Williams, Dai Havard,
Sylvia Hermon, Harry Cohen, Neil Gerrard, John Bercow, Clare Short,
Marsha Singh, Mark Oaten, Ronnie Campbell, Janet Dean, Lynne
Featherstone, Stephen Williams, Mark Lazarowicz, Austin Mitchell,
Michael Clapham, Bill Etherington, Paul Rowen, David Anderson, Lyn
Brown, Alan Simpson, Jim Dobbin, John Battle, Mohammad Sarwar, Andrew
Love, Gavin Strang, Jeremy Browne, Russell Brown, Diane Abbott, David
Heyes, Julie Morgan, Patrick Hall, John Austin, John Leech, John
McDonnell, Tony Lloyd.

If your MP is one of the above 53 MPs who have already signed
Download the attached model letter SignedEDM1729, informing your MP
that despite them having signed the EDM, the Home Office has arranged
another "deportation charter" flight to the DR Congo, and asking
him/her to lobby the Immigration Minister to cancel the flight.

If your MP is NOT one of the below 53 MPs who have already signed
Download the attached model letter NotSignedEDM1729, asking your MP
to sign the EDM now.

As Parliament is in recess, we suggest you either email your MP or
write / fax him/her at their constituency address. You can find out
who your MP is and his/her contact details here;
 http://www.theyworkforyou.com/http://www.theyworkforyou.com/

End of Bulletin:

Source for this Message:
Congo Support Project
NCADC
High Court