HASHMAT TOOKHI MUST STAY!!

15/12/09

On the very day that Afghanistan’s capital Kabul has been rocked by suicide bombings, in the latest of a series of violent incidents which has prompted the BBC to declare 2009 “the worst year for security in Kabul since the overthrow of the Taleban in 2001”, Home Secretary Alan Johnson proposes to deport Birmingham’s Hashmat Tookhi to Afghanistan on a Charter Flight.

Hashmat is 28 years old and has lived in Birmingham since his arrival in the UK in 2001. At the time of his arrival, Home Office policy was to grant leave to remain to asylum seekers from Afghanistan. However, due to administrative delays, no decision was made on his claim for almost 2 years. His claim was refused and Hashmat was made destitute and homeless on the streets of Birmingham.

Despairing at his circumstances, Hashmat made an ill-advised attempt in 2006 to take the ferry from Stranraer to Belfast, hoping to make a new asylum claim in Ireland. He was caught travelling without documentation and sentenced to 3 months imprisonment under the Terrorism Act, despite having attempted to harm no one, and being specifically noted to pose no risk to the public in a pre-sentence report.

Following his release from prison, Hashmat was again homeless and destitute. He made his way back to Birmingham, where he was assisted to submit fresh representations in respect of his claim for asylum- including requests that the Secretary of State pay due attention to newspaper reports from Afghanistan, specifically naming Hashmat to be potentially at risk of violence. For the past 3 years, Hashmat has been a dedicated and valued volunteer at a number of community projects around the city.
His fresh claim was finally refused by the Secretary of State earlier this year. While numerous requests for reconsideration have been made, all have been refused. He is now in Colnbrook Detention Centre, due to fly to Kabul this evening.

We urge the Secretary of State to stay this removal. As today’s events graphically illustrate, Kabul is not a place of safety. Hashmat his now lived in Birmingham for the majority of his adult life. He has no family in Kabul who can provide him with support, or even with basic shelter.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION: WRITE TO THE HOME SECRETARY ALAN JOHNSON, ON FAX : 020 8760 3132 OR EMAIL  biapublicenquiries@bia.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk QUOTING HASHMAT’S NAME AND HOME OFFICE REFERENCE NUMBER T1049620, REQUESTING AN IMMEDIATE REVIEW OF HIS CIRCUMSTANCES AND A GRANT OF ASYLUM IN LIGHT NOT ONLY OF THE SITUATION IN PRESENT-DAY KABUL , BUT ALSO OF THE HOME OFFICE’S OWN POLICY ON THE DAY, ALMOST 9 YEARS AGO, THAT HASHMAT FIRST CLAIMED ASYLUM IN THE UK.

Please copy any correspondence to  admin@asirt.org.uk.