Lal Agha first became known to us at ASIRT in September 2007. He was, at that time, homeless and destitute and sleeping on the concrete floor of a garage: the garage's owner "allowed" him to sleep there in exchange for labour, making him wash cars and clean a variety of properties for nothing. His claim for asylum, lodged in 2002, had been refused in 2003 and Lal Agha had been homeless since that time. While he had initially claimed to have been born in 1955 - thinking that his claim would be looked on more favourably if he was of working age - he is actually around 10 years older than this, and is now accepted by the Home Office to be 64 years of age. He has evidence of torture and has been diagnosed as severely depressed and potentially suicidal.

We assisted him to submit fresh representations in respect of his claim for asylum in October 08. These have again been refused, and Lal Agha was arrested on August 26th 2009, while signing at his local immigration reporting centre. He was given removal directions to Afghanistan, and was due to fly on September 15th. However, an injunction was successfully applied for to prevent his removal, and he presently remains in detention at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre, Harmondsworth. UK Border Agency representatives have confirmed their intention to remove him from the UK to Kabul- a city in which he knows no one- as soon as they are able.

The Reasons for Refusal letter advises Lal Agha that, while they accept that there "is presently an internal armed conflict in Afghanistan and that for the purposes of International Humanitarian Law the whole of the territory of Afghanistan is to be treated as being in such a conflict...it is not considered that your human rights would be breached by a removal to that country" and that he is "of an age at which he could readily adapt to life in Afghanistan" (this despite the fact that average life expectancy is just over 44 years!)

The Home Office's own country guidance document on Afghanistan notes that "healthcare in Afghanistan has been severely affected by decades of conflict and ranks among the worst in the world." The same guidance goes on to note that in Kabul, the city to which it is proposed he will be "safely" removed, the slum dwellings in which returned refugees are forced to live are characterised by a lack of basic infrastructure, "including access to water, sewerage, and drainage" and that "many informal areas in Kabul are still not supplied with basic infrastructure such as electricity, safe water supply and adequate sanitation systems, and the constant new influx of people puts additional pressure on the already overloaded service infrastucture".

The report concludes by quoting the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees' guidance that States should exercise caution, for humanitarian reasons, when considering return for those with very specific vulnerabilities:" Return and reintegration will not be viable, unless family and/or community support is available, for single parents with small children, the elderly and ill or disabled persons who cannot work". Yet still, the Home Office proposes the deportation of a mentally ill 64 year old man with no family ties to a country characterised by internal armed conflict and extreme deprivation. Lal Agha is convinced that a forced return to Afghanistan under present circumstances would be equivalent to a death sentence, and even the most cursory reading of the objective available evidence upholds his viewpoint.

The Home Office also appears to have ignored the implications of the Court of Appeal ruling QD (Iraq) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2009], which held that Article 15(c) (protection from Serious Harm) applied so as to entitle an individual, who did not qualify for refugee status or for status in light of Article 3, to protection where there was, in the relevant country or region, such a high level of indiscriminate violence that substantial grounds existed for believing that the individual would, solely by being present there, face a real risk which threatened his life or person.

We are most concerned about the damage to Lal Agha's health caused by his prolonged detention and by the still-present threat of deportation, and we would be extremely grateful if our supporters could write to the Rt Hon Alan Johnson, MP (Secretary of State for the Home Office), requesting his immediate release from detention and that he finally be granted protection in line with the UK's international obligations, quoting reference G1068631 :

FAX: 020 8760 3132
Email:  Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Please also copy us into any correspondence sent on Lal Agha's behalf:  admin@asirt.org.uk

Regards,

all at ASIRT