re-posted from NCADC News Service
Charles Pouaha must stay!
Urgent: Please help stop the removal of Charles Beaudelaire Pouaha On British Airways Flight BA302 at 6:20am Thursday 14 July "I escaped Cameroon and came to England on the 26th of November 2002, but instead of finding refuge here I have been drowning in problems; since I came to this country and presented myself to immigration as an asylum-seeker, I have suffered the evils that I was trying to forget yet again. I have been held in detention since the 29th August 2003. Because I know my situation is very dangerous in Cameroon, and I know how failed asylum seekers who are deported to Cameroon are treated, I resisted deportation." Charles Pouaha
This will be the sixth attempt to remove Charles.
Charles has been fighting for two and half years for the right to asylum in Britain. Charles survived detention & torture in Cameroon only to have his case for asylum refused at every turn, despite all the evidence he has provided of what happened to him and how much he is at risk if he is returned.
Charles Pouaha must stay!
Urgent: Please help stop the removal of Charles Beaudelaire Pouaha On British Airways Flight BA302 at 6:20am Thursday 14 July "I escaped Cameroon and came to England on the 26th of November 2002, but instead of finding refuge here I have been drowning in problems; since I came to this country and presented myself to immigration as an asylum-seeker, I have suffered the evils that I was trying to forget yet again. I have been held in detention since the 29th August 2003. Because I know my situation is very dangerous in Cameroon, and I know how failed asylum seekers who are deported to Cameroon are treated, I resisted deportation." Charles Pouaha
This will be the sixth attempt to remove Charles.
Charles has been fighting for two and half years for the right to asylum in Britain. Charles survived detention & torture in Cameroon only to have his case for asylum refused at every turn, despite all the evidence he has provided of what happened to him and how much he is at risk if he is returned.
He has been detained for 23 months in Britain while the Home Office has made several attempts to remove him to Cameroon, including one last November where he alleges he was severely beaten by four escorts.
Charles is well known by the Cameroonian authorities who would certainly make every effort to detain him if this removal goes ahead. The situation is made even more dangerous by an article on Cameroonians in detention in the UK published in the largest independent newspaper in Cameroon a few weeks ago, which included Charles' case.
What you can do to help
Persuade British Airways (BA) not to carry Charles back to danger.
The campaign has drawn up a model letter attached, which they are asking everyone to print off, fill in (get as many other people as possible to do the same), and fax to BA Chair Martin Broughton and Chief Executive Officer Rod Eddington, asking them not to carry Charles.
British Airways:
Martin Broughton (Chairman) / Rod Eddington (CEO)
- Fax 0208 738 9801 from outside the UK + 208 738 9801
If you have time fax the BA press office with same letter:
British Airways Press Office - fax 0208 738 9838 outside the UK + 0208 738 9838
Please notify or email copies of any faxes sent to:
Naomi Byron
naomibyron@hotmail.com
For more information on Charles’ case please see:
Charles Pouaha must stay!
http://www.yre.org.uk/charlespouaha/index.html
Or call Naomi Byron 079 4157 1365
Brutalisation during previous removal attempt
On 4 November 2004 Charles was taken to the airport for removal. After he refused to board the plane, Charles alleges he was repeatedly punched and kicked by his escorts; this treatment also continued after he had been carried on to the plane, when he refused to sit down. Charles further alleges when he cried out for help to the passengers, one of the escorts there hand several times over his mouth and nose, which stopped him from breathing. Campaigners are convinced that the violence used against Charles went beyond lawful force. It left him with injuries including:
o Cuts on his hands and wrists that were still visible and painful to the touch several weeks later.
o Neurological damage, which has left him without feeling in his left thumb.
o Significant psychological damage including sleeping problems, flashbacks to the incident, depression and possible post-traumatic stress disorder.
The authorities had tried to deport Charles four times before, but two of these attempts were stopped because Charles had a legal case ongoing; the other two attempts did not succeed because the pilot refused to take Charles, who was in a great deal of distress and explained to the pilot and escorts why he did not want to go.
In December 2004 Charles said:
"Since I received that mistreatment I had bruises and pain all over and could only walk with difficulty. I have pain in my abdomen, neck and back pain. I can't sleep and when I try to go to sleep, I see again all the violence done to me before and my body starts to hurt me. This reminds me of the worse conditions I suffered in my home country."
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Charles Pouaha must stay Campaign
Charles is well known by the Cameroonian authorities who would certainly make every effort to detain him if this removal goes ahead. The situation is made even more dangerous by an article on Cameroonians in detention in the UK published in the largest independent newspaper in Cameroon a few weeks ago, which included Charles' case.
What you can do to help
Persuade British Airways (BA) not to carry Charles back to danger.
The campaign has drawn up a model letter attached, which they are asking everyone to print off, fill in (get as many other people as possible to do the same), and fax to BA Chair Martin Broughton and Chief Executive Officer Rod Eddington, asking them not to carry Charles.
British Airways:
Martin Broughton (Chairman) / Rod Eddington (CEO)
- Fax 0208 738 9801 from outside the UK + 208 738 9801
If you have time fax the BA press office with same letter:
British Airways Press Office - fax 0208 738 9838 outside the UK + 0208 738 9838
Please notify or email copies of any faxes sent to:
Naomi Byron
naomibyron@hotmail.com For more information on Charles’ case please see:
Charles Pouaha must stay!
http://www.yre.org.uk/charlespouaha/index.html Or call Naomi Byron 079 4157 1365
Brutalisation during previous removal attempt
On 4 November 2004 Charles was taken to the airport for removal. After he refused to board the plane, Charles alleges he was repeatedly punched and kicked by his escorts; this treatment also continued after he had been carried on to the plane, when he refused to sit down. Charles further alleges when he cried out for help to the passengers, one of the escorts there hand several times over his mouth and nose, which stopped him from breathing. Campaigners are convinced that the violence used against Charles went beyond lawful force. It left him with injuries including:
o Cuts on his hands and wrists that were still visible and painful to the touch several weeks later.
o Neurological damage, which has left him without feeling in his left thumb.
o Significant psychological damage including sleeping problems, flashbacks to the incident, depression and possible post-traumatic stress disorder.
The authorities had tried to deport Charles four times before, but two of these attempts were stopped because Charles had a legal case ongoing; the other two attempts did not succeed because the pilot refused to take Charles, who was in a great deal of distress and explained to the pilot and escorts why he did not want to go.
In December 2004 Charles said:
"Since I received that mistreatment I had bruises and pain all over and could only walk with difficulty. I have pain in my abdomen, neck and back pain. I can't sleep and when I try to go to sleep, I see again all the violence done to me before and my body starts to hurt me. This reminds me of the worse conditions I suffered in my home country."
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Charles Pouaha must stay Campaign
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Letter to stop the removal of Charles Baudelaire Pouaha
13.07.2005 10:39
Martin Broughton (Chairman) / Rod Eddington (CEO)
- Fax 0208 738 9801
c.c: British Airways Press Office - fax 0208 738 9838
Dear Mr. Broughton and Mr. Eddington,
Please stop the removal of Charles Baudelaire Pouaha
Charles Pouaha is scheduled to be removed from Heathrow to Douala via flight BA302 at 6.20am on Thursday 14 July, then a connecting flight from Paris.
Charles Pouaha is an opposition activist from Cameroon who was detained & tortured for standing up against the dictatorship of Paul Biya. Charles was an active member of the Social Democratic Front (the main opposition group in Cameroon) and the CSPL (Comité de soutien pour la liberté). These two organisations had the same ideology: equality of opportunity and giving power back to the people.
Charles is at risk because he is well known to the authorities in Cameroon, particularly since an article about Charles and other Cameroonians in detention in the UK was published in the biggest independent newspaper in Cameroon a few weeks ago.
Charles is only under threat of deportation because the adjudicator in his initial asylum claim failed to take all the evidence into account, particularly regarding the tortured Charles had suffered.
Charles is a refugee and torture survivor. He has suspected post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of his experiences, which has been made worse by the refusal of the Home Office to accept his case up till now and the detention he has suffered in the UK.
Please take steps to immediately cancel BA’s involvement in the removal of Charles, which would violate of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights which states: "No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Yours sincerely,
Name ……………………………………………………
Address ……………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………. Post Code……………………
Country: ……………… Date: ………………
British Airways profit from deporting asylum seekers
Removal deferred but campaign continues
13.07.2005 14:55
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Charles Pouaha - removal deferred
Dear all,
The Home Office have agreed to defer Charles' removal tomorrow morning in order to consider fresh representations made by his solicitor. This is obviously extremely good news, but we need to be ready if the Home Office turn down the new representations and try to set new removal directions.
Thank you very much for your support, and we will keep you informed.
Naomi Byron for:
Charles Pouaha must stay Campaign
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Charles Pouaha must stay Campaign
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