Resource: new LGBT asylum support group in Wales

The LGBT Excellence Centre Wales is a social enterprise and charity based in Cardiff that supports people, organizations and businesses with issues concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. We are based in Wales with a commitment to Wales, although we also have a few projects working across the UK.

We support gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and promote equality, diversity and human rights through gathering and sharing information and good practice.

We provide people with free support, advice and representation around discrimination, harassment, bullying and hate crime.

Due to a lack of similar groups in Wales, the LGBT Excellence Centre formed an asylum group which now consists of six members of whom two are from central Africa, two from the Middle-East, and two from North Africa.

All the members of the group have a similar personal story, which is that they cannot return to their home country for fear of discrimination based on their sexuality, which can lead to their imprisonment or even death. Therefore they seek asylum in the UK on these grounds.

The group meets up every two weeks on a Thursday afternoon to:

• Share personal stories and create peer support.
• Support each other with settling in e.g; places to go as in bars, clubs, internet access, English lessons and general education and support services.
• Identify positive information sources for all
• Listen to expert guest speakers

Our main aim is to be able to get (a) legal representative(s) who have the experience in LGBT immigration, and who will be able to represent our group members now and in the future to support their cases.

We also aim to develop best practice for future group members so that we can become a centre of excellence and a proactive group for asylum seekers who identity as LGBT.

We hope that this will lead us to be able to bring more and more members into the group so that we can support and advise more people through this process.

• You can contact the group via info@ecwales.org.uk

> The LGBT Excellence Centre Wales is hosting an International LGBT Human Rights Summit, 31 August - 1 September.

Papers please! Officials roaming British streets in 'illegals' hunt

UK border agents at work

Source: Migrants Rights Network (MRN)

By Awale Olad

A number of highly visible enforcement officers are reported to have stopped and searched black and Asian people randomly, requiring that they produce documents proving their identities and immigration status. Further reports of arrests of Pakistanis and raids on Asian restaurants in West London have surfaced on blogs and newspapers.

Damian Green MP, the minister responsible for immigration, said:

“The UK Border Agency officers across the country have carried out a major enforcement crackdown which has generated a large number of arrests, cash seizures and prosecutions."

The raids and checks are postulated under the guise of strong evidence, which, according to Home Office rules, justifies the actions of enforcement officers. The No Borders South Wales group reported on Saturday 23 April 2011 that a number of highly visible UKBA officers carried out random checks on unsuspecting Black and Asian shoppers in the city of Cardiff in the popular shopping district of Queen Street.

MRN made immediate contact with Jenny Willott MP, the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Cardiff Central, where the incident took place. Ms Willott contacted the Wales UKBA office requesting further clarification on the expansion of Home Office intelligence-related operations recently deployed in her constituency. When police have been heavy-handed in the past, which on occasions caused a tense atmosphere in Cardiff, locals complained to Ms Willott, but not on this occasion about UKBA officers descending on the area.

UKBA responded to Ms Willott by confirming an operation had taken place 19 April “as a result of specific intelligence” and that protocol was followed to the letter of the law. However, UKBA Guidance prohibits ‘fishing expeditions’ that involves questioning random individuals on the grounds that they might be found to be in an irregular situation. Section 31.19 of the UKBA’s Enforcement and Guidance Instructions provides a good perspective on what constitutes “intelligence-led” and fishing expeditions.

The requirement that immigration inquiries be pursued on an intelligence-led* basis has provided an important safeguard against speculative forays into communities with high proportions of ethnic minority people. At a time when the coalition government has promised a substantial ramping up of enforcement activities it is essential that the border between enquiries prompted by specific intelligence should not be breached by officials running what amounts to crude ‘fishing expeditions’.

Parliament has an important role to play in monitoring these developments. In the interests of race equality and good community relations it should ensure that the highest standards are maintained in this area of immigration policy at all times.

*What does the UKBA mean by intelligence-led? These are the questions that UKBA officers need to be able to answer in relation to recent operations in Cardiff:

1. Was this Crime Reduction Operation (CROP) or Street Operations (StOp)?
2. What intelligence does UKBA possess which supports the belief that this was a location in which suspected offenders gathered at certain times? 
3. What sort of activities did UKBA’s claimed intelligence suggest the suspected offenders were involved in?
4. What types of behaviourdid suspected offenders exhibited which justified being made inquiries by UKBA officers?  
5. Observers at the scene have reported that the action was directed either mainly or exclusively at Asian or black people: can this be refuted?
6. Did the action lead to the identification of any immigration act offenders? If it did, how many?

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Gay Azerbaijani artist rejected by the UK wins asylum in France

Babi Badalov

By Paul Canning

The gay Azerbaijani artist Babi Badalov today received notice that he has been granted asylum by France, just over five years since he first fled for what he thought would be the sanctuary of the UK.

Badalov is an internationally renowned radical artist and poet whose work has been exhibited across Europe. It has been explicitly critical of the Azerbaijan government and prominent members of the present and past regimes there. His art and open homosexuality led to him suffering beatings and bullying over the years that left him with only eight teeth remaining and a number of mental health problems.

“Azerbaijan is one of many countries that wants to be a member of the European Parliament," Badalov says. "It wants to be an imitation of Europe, like Russia does, but in reality everything is rotting there, worse than it was in the Soviet Union.”

“I tried to exhibit my work called ‘Mister Musor’ [Mr. Garbage] a few times, where I am standing on a heap of garbage in Lenin’s pose."

“When the Azeri President died, they put his monuments everywhere — on every central street, on every central square — giant, hi-tech posters are everywhere, posters of Heydar Aliyev. The main street in every village is named after Heydar Aliyev, while all the rest are rotting. You walk ten meters [away from the main street] and it’s all sores. People live in shit, eat bones, die of hunger. But when [current President Ilham Aliyev, Heydar's son] visits, there’s a monument to his father, and everything is fine. Lenin has been resurrected.”

Homosexuality remains an extremely taboo subject in Azerbaijan, which is 99% Muslim. This led Badalov’s brothers to threaten to kill him because of the shame which he has brought on the family.

He was violently removed from the UK in 2008 after his asylum claim was rejected by then Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on the basis that he could go and live in another part of the country and keep his sexuality a secret. He hid underground in the Azerbaijani capital Baku for two days after his sister had warned him over the phone before his removal to never to come to the country again because of death threats from his brothers. As a result Badalov fled to St Petersberg.

Read more »

UK government takes axe to refugee and asylum services

By Paul Canning

Refugee and asylum seeker services are facing massive cuts in government funding. The three national Refugee Council's face a two-third cut in their funding, the speed and the size of which will "make it impossible to adapt services quickly enough to stop people falling through the gaps," said Refugee Council chief executive Donna Covey.

"Our clients will either not receive the help they need to accurately make their asylum applications – which means they will be wrongly returned to murderous regimes – or they will be trapped in a limboland of delays, during which they will often be forced into destitution," she said.

Other services also face the axe. From April, funding for advice services for newly arrived asylum seekers will be cut by two thirds, funding for initial accommodation services will be halved, and contracts for the Refugee Integration and Employment Services (RIES) will end completely from September.

This, said Covey, "means that for the first time in living memory there will be no UK government statutory funding to support refugees to integrate in the UK."

The Refugee Council's government funding has been cut by almost 62%. It will have to lose around one third of its 300 staff and close two of its seven centres to meet the cuts of 61.7%. Cuts to frontline services across England will begin "almost immediately" and be fully implemented in three months' time.

In Scotland, the One Stop Service, which offers advice to asylum seekers and refugees from the headquarters of the Scottish Refugee Council in Glasgow, will be cut by 62%, and the grant for their orientation and support services for people who have just arrived in the city will be halved.

Read more »

What will Britain's spending review mean for asylum seekers and refugees?

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Refugee Council

By Philippa, in the Communications team

The Chancellor took to the podium on Wednesday to reveal the long awaited Comprehensive Spending Review. The headlines in yesterday's newspapers and websites told us all about the rising pension age, cuts in disability benefits, increasing rail fares… But what does this mean for asylum seekers and refugees?
There was very little mention of asylum in the spending review, and the finer details of how the cuts will affect our clients will no doubt be revealed in coming weeks and months. But what was clear yesterday is that the most vulnerable in our society are going to suffer the most. So here is our own attempt at breaking down how our clients will be affected.

1. UKBA spending will be cut by £500 million by reducing service costs, but they will increase productivity by investing more in asylum casework and border control.

Sounds ominous, although we’re encouraged that they will pour more money into asylum casework. It is also crucial that policing our borders is not achieved at the expense of those seeking protection from persecution. Those in need of safety must have access to effective systems for considering their asylum claims at the point that they are entering the country. We are also already concerned about the speed of processing of some asylum claims, and if speed is to be a UKBA priority, they must also make sure that the process is better and fairer. We hope the Asylum Improvement Project which the government is already undertaking, will make sure of that.

2. Major reforms to the legal aid system involving taking tough choices about the types of case that should receive public funding, focusing support on those who need it most, and giving better value for the taxpayer.

Read more »

Borders Agency cleared of racism - but “significant concern” so will make changes

Source: Wales Online

By Sam Malone, South Wales Echo

Am investigation has rejected claims of institutional racism at the UK Border Agency in Cardiff following complaints by a former employee.

Yet AM Bethan Jenkins has questioned the credibility of the internal inquiry into allegations that asylum seekers were mistreated at the agency’s Newport Road offices last summer.

Louise Perrett, who was employed as a case worker at the office for three and a half months, alleged officials expressed fiercely anti-immigration views, took pride in refusing applications and kept a stuffed gorilla known as a “grant monkey”, which was placed as a badge of shame on the desk of any officer who approved an asylum application.

But despite gathering evidence from 22 people, including Ms Perrett, the investigation found “all allegations are unsubstantiated except for the concerns about the toy monkey”.

As a result it ruled no disciplinary proceedings should take place.

However, it did conclude there is reason for “significant concern” in relation to the office’s day to day workings.

Read more »

UK election 2010: Plaid Cymru on LGBT asylum

Image via Wikipedia

On the calling of the British general election, LGBT Asylum News has written to all the party's LGBT groups plus the Scottish National Party offering space for them to state their position on LGBT asylum issues. The parties have until 4 May to respond. Statements from them will not be edited.

The first submission is by Plaid Cymru.

~~~~~~

Plaid Cymru is working for a strong, sustainable and cohesive Wales where everyone is valued. The people of Wales are united in their diversity and are welcoming of those who come here to work and live. Plaid Cymru believes that Wales is a country where each and every individual should be respected and valued irrespective of their race, language, nationality, gender, colour, creed, sexuality, age, ability or social background.

We are in the process of setting up a LGBT group – PlaidPride – for employees, members of the party and supporters. This is an affiliated interest group which will be able to submit motions to conference. Of course, as well as appealing to LGBT members Plaid Cymru should strive to improve its standing amongst LGBT voters. A LGBT group could act as a mechanism for LGBT staff, members and supporters to air their grievances in the event of alleged discrimination occurring and could provide a system for dealing with abuse.

Plaid Cymru is committed to improving the working environment for LGBT staff. We will demonstrate that we are doing more than just complying with the law and actually engaging with our LGBT staff. In 1996 we passed ‘Sexual Health Education’ which called for ‘issues surrounding people’s sexuality [to] be presented in an open, sensitive and prejudice-free manner as a key element in any comprehensive programme of sexual health education [and noted] that lesbian, gay and bisexual young people also require support and advice and that section 28 of the Local Government Act (1988) that currently prevents the provision of such support be repealed accordingly.’ In 1999 we passed ‘Equality of Opportunity and Social Justice’ which reaffirmed Plaid’s ‘commitment to social justice and to the promotion of equality of opportunity for every citizen of Wales ... [and called on] Westminster must review equality law to ensure that it is enforceable. accessible, and covers all aspects of discrimination, including age and sexuality.’

We are very strong in reiterating our commitment to all those who live in Wales and that we are a party that believes in freedom from discrimination, harassment or insult on the grounds of colour, race, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age or disability. We are very clear that we welcome everyone to Plaid Cymru regardless of any minority status; we have a openly gay MP in Carmarthenshire and several openly gay councillors and prominent members of the party, as well as many gay members of staff across the party.

Plaid Cymru recognises the invaluable contribution that migrants have made to Wales over the years. Our civic nationalism celebrates tolerance, mutual understanding and difference. We welcome everybody to Wales, irrespective of race, language, nationality, colour, creed or background. We condemn the point-scoring used by other parties and the pandering to unfounded xenophobic prejudices in the debate on immigration. Migration is a natural process in human life and it is in all our interests for Wales  to deal with this as effectively and efficiently as possible. Equally, we recognise the potential shared benefits of greater co-operation in asylum and immigration at EU level, and the important role that Wales  should play in assisting the integration of new migrants. We believe that we share a duty to uphold and defend people's right to seek asylum and we will work to ensure Wales’s proud tradition of offering refuge to the persecuted continues. We strongly condemn the growing trade in human trafficking and call for greater resources to help and support victims of trafficking. Plaid MPs campaigned to stop the closing of the specialist Human Trafficking Unit which deals with forced labour and domestic slavery. 

Plaid Cymru supports the right of asylum seekers to work in the UK while they wait for status decisions to be made and we call for the speeding up of an often bureaucratic and unnecessarily complicated asylum system. Plaid MPs will campaign in Westminster for the repeal of laws which force asylum seekers into the inhumane and ineffective voucher system and we condemn the practice of housing recently-arrived asylum seekers, especially children, in “detention” or “removal” centres as punitive and cruel.

Border Agency whistle blower gives evidence to MPs

Via No Borders South Wales

As part of the oral session of the internal inquiry into the UK Border Agency, former UKBA employee Louise Perrett appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee in the House of Commons on Tuesday 2 March and gave evidence of her experience of working in the agency’s Cardiff office.

Perrett, who worked for the Agency last summer, has said that there was a culture of racist discrimination within the office. She wanted to make clear what was not a focus of media coverage, which tended to highlight specific claims, that there was a culture of racism which meant that those professional and diligent staff felt unable to speak up against.

The committee questioned Perrett on the detail of her claims, with Conservative Monmouth MP David Davis arguing that the Cardiff office of the UKBA approves more asylum applications than many other branches. He argued that this was because they weren't properly considered.

As well as evidence presented by Perrett, later in the session John Vine, Chief Inspector of UKBA, and Lin Homer, chief executive of UKBA, also appeared in front of the committee.

Video of her testimony is on the House of Commons website. A full transcript should be available on the Committee website within about 2 weeks.

(video will appear here when uploaded)

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'Racist' UK Border Agency office hosts mass protest

By Paul Canning

The UK Border Agency office from which gay Azerbaijan asylum seeker Babi Badalov was sent to be deported was the scene of a large protest on Friday 26 Feb.

Protesters called for an independent inquiry following allegations by whistleblower Louise Perrett, who worked for the Agency last summer, that there was a culture of racist discrimination within the office.

Amongst her claims Perrett said:

• Staff kept a stuffed gorilla, a "grant monkey", which was placed as a badge of shame on the desk of any officer who approved an asylum application.
• One official boasted to her that he tested the claims of boys from African countries who said they had been forcibly conscripted as child soldiers by making them lie down on the floor and demonstrate how they shot at people in the bush. 
• One method used to determine the authenticity of an asylum seeker claiming to be from North Korea was to ask whether the person ate chop suey (which is an American dish).
• If a case was difficult she was simply advised to refuse it and "let a tribunal sort it out".
• She was given the power to make legally binding decisions on whether asylum seekers were granted or refused asylum after just five weeks' training.
• One manager said of the office's asylum-seeker clients: "If it was up to me I'd take them all outside and shoot them."

The Cross Party Group for Human Rights, is also calling for an independent inquiry into the alleged discrimination at the Agency.

This audio report by the Welsh Green Dragon website covers the background and speaks with one of the main protest organisers, a Congolese man.



Over 200 people, mostly refugees but also prominent members of Zimbabwean, Congolese, Kurdish and other community groups, attended the three hour demonstration organised by Refugee Voice Wales. It is rare for asylum seekers to publicly demonstrate, No Borders South Wales says: "there has been a justifiable fear amongst people seeking asylum that attending a demonstration would harm their claim".



Everyone’s Favourite Comrade said:

For a weekday in Cardiff it is quite rare to see a demonstration of that size and the police were clearly stunned by the amount of people there and had to call for reinforcements.

Refugee Voice Wales said that they will be calling more protests every month until there is an independent inquiry, the suspension of all deportations and a review of all cases from the Cardiff office (full list of demands).

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We must investigate UK Border Agency allegations

Source: Waleshome.org

By Bethan Jenkins AM

You may have heard of Louise Perrett. She is the former UK Border Agency official who blew the whistle on her colleagues after witnessing widespread racism and other discrimination against asylum seekers at the government department’s offices in Cardiff.

She spoke about her experiences before a packed meeting last week of the Cross-Party Group on Human Rights that I chair in the Assembly. The audience comprised mostly people with first hand experience of the immigration system – asylum seekers and groups that work on their behalf – and when Louise had finished, we were all as equally shocked and disheartened that such appalling practices could lie at the heart of such an essential government service.

How has this been allowed to happen? In this day and age, how is it that staff from a government department (and the Government is supposed to lead on combating inequality and intolerance) can be go unpunished when they are so allegedly racist? Worse, such racism would impact on the lives of people that genuinely need our help, people whose lives are often in very real danger when they arrive in the UK. I know this from my postbag, and from the number of times I am asked to write on an asylum seeker’s behalf to the Home Office, or to an airline.

Louise worked for three-and-a-half months last summer for the UK Border Agency, having spent her working career in the public sector – including policy development for the Welsh Assembly Government. She admits she had reservations about beginning this new job, as she “did not relish the prospect of kicking asylum seekers out of the country for money”.

Working out of the agency’s Newport Road offices, Louise began by shadowing a lead case-owner for unaccompanied children. She says she had only been with this officer for 15 minutes when she said: “If it was up to me I take them all outside and shoot them.” When Louise told her that she found her remarks offensive and unprofessional, the officer replied: “Well, you’ll quickly discover that no one in this office is very PC. In fact, everyone is the exact opposite.”

Louise said: “Over the next week, I remained sat in this team. I have never, in all the years I have worked in the civil service, encountered such an unprofessional manner in the workplace. People would stand up and scream at each other or have very loud personal conversations, talk about claimants in a derogatory manner and continuously swear, regardless of who was in the room or on the phone.”

She puts this office culture down to “an undeniable sense of power” within the Border Agency. It has the power to arrest and detain anyone suspected of being an illegal immigrant – in fact, Louise had those powers. Despite minimal training and very limited experience, she was able to detain a family for up to 28 days. She believes that such powers should be matched with responsibility, and that remains in short supply at the Border Agency.

She was given a live case to handle. It involved a 15-year-old girl who had left Bangladesh to escape an arranged marriage and had fled her father’s custody when he tried to have her wed to a suitor in the UK. But because the Border Agency had taken so long in processing her claim, the girl was approaching her 18th birthday and was to be returned to Bangladesh as an independent adult rather than claiming asylum as an unaccompanied child.

Louise did not agree with the deportation because, among other issues, she had fled abusive parents. But she admitted that her lack of training might have left her unable to make an informed judgement. At this point, she was given some interview tips from a team leader. He told her that when he interviewed someone claiming to be from North Korea he always asked if they ate chop suey. “If they say yes, they’re from China,” he added. “They don’t eat chop suey in North Korea, it’s a Chinese dish. That would be a material inconsistency and you’d know he was lying about where he came from. If he’s lying about his country of origin, he’s going to be lying about his claim for asylum.” Chop suey, as most people know, was created in the US.

Louise saw how this way of thinking permeated down to staff. She witnessed a case worker seek out the opinion of two team leaders and the legal department because she did not want to approve a Congolese woman’s application for asylum. An officer in the legal department responded by singing: “Umbongo, umbongo, they kill them in the Congo.”

She continually heard comments along the lines of: “They shouldn’t bloody be here” “How can they afford a mobile phone?”, and “If you grant asylum to one, they’ve got the right to bring their whole family over.” But she suggests that it is institutionalised. Combat training was one of the first courses Louise attended, and believes it is part of the siege mentality prevalent at the Border Agency, that asylum seekers are generally bogus and often dangerous criminals capable of attacking staff.

“Like something from Life on Mars”

On another course, her trainer said that she had worked for the department for three years and in all that time had granted just three applications. “And she was one of the good ones,” added Louise, who managed to equal her number in the short period she worked there. She also refused two, but found herself berated and ridiculed when she offered asylum.

This manifested itself in one of the most shocking allegations of bad practice at the Border Agency – the ‘grant monkey’, a stuffed gorilla that was placed on the desk of any officer who approved an asylum application, as a mark of shame.

Apart from portraying an office in a timewarp – “like something from Life on Mars”, as Louise puts it – we have to ask where the direction is coming from where this department is concerned. Louise says there were examples of professionalism and a duty of care demonstrated by staff, but that they were few and far between. Who is responsible for ensuring that the Cardiff office is run properly, and what is the Government prepared to do about it?

Apart from a call from Keith Vaz, the Home Affairs select committee chairman, for a full investigation into Louise’s claims, we have heard little except that the Border Agency “takes these claims very seriously”. But we are all forgetting the most important consequence of this appalling set of events – asylum seekers with legitimate claims could be bring returned to persecution and perhaps even worse as a result of what has happened in Cardiff.

To that end, we now need to call a halt to any deportations planned as a consequence of the casework completed at the Cardiff office. There needs to be a full investigation into Louise Perrett’s claims, and every case before the department here in Wales must be reviewed. Officers should be assessed for retraining or disciplinary action. And this needs to happen now. I am also calling on the Equalities Committee at the National Assembly to look in to this matter.

Too many people’s lives could be left in the balance by racist unprofessionalism. Racism isn’t tolerated on our streets, and it should certainly not be accepted within a UK government department.

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Cold, Confused and Cashless

Source: CITIZENS for Sanctuary

Before Christmas South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary, an alliance of faith, citizen and refugee groups, held an action in Cardiff to test out the new Azure card and to monitor the impact of the card on people seeking sanctuary. Local communities formed Citizen Monitoring Teams to assess the impact of the new Section 4 payment card on dignity, stigma, travel, access to food, clothing and healthcare, ease of use and value for money. The Citizen Monitoring Teams who braved sub-zero temperatures for the action found the card to be poor value for money, inadequate to meet the needs of families and unacceptably difficult to use.

The action was a media success and the inadequate provision for people seeking sanctuary on Section 4 was covered by the Western Mail, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and on BBC1 Wales 6 o’clock News.


The findings of that action have now been collated and published in the South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary report, ‘Cold, Confused and Cashless’. And, on Friday 29th January Mr. Philiip Smith, UKBA Regional Chief of Operations for Wales and the South West, met with a team of leaders from South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary to discuss possible solutions to the many problems they had been recording since the introduction of the Azure card to Wales in early December. The CITIZENS for Sanctuary team in South Wales presented Mr. Smith with the 'Cold, Confused and Cashless' report which outlined their requests to address some of the pressing concerns around the Azure card.

The South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary negotiation with Mr. Smith was a cause for celebration. The team was really pleased to hear that Mr. Smith would work with them to sign up local charities shops and businesses to the Azure card, providing they meet UKBA requirements. He also agreed to join CITIZENS for Sanctuary to meet with Cardiff Bus to discuss signing them up to the Azure card scheme in Wales. This would make an enormous difference to people like Constance and her family who have to survive on the Azure card. Constance said “trying to look after my two young boys with no access to the bus is so hard. I was forced to walk back in the driving rain over three miles with my young children and our shopping bags which left me and my family ill for several days. All because I couldn’t get on the bus. So now I am really pleased that Mr. Smith has now agreed to work with us on the issue.”

Sister Ruth O'Neil and Edie who is seeking sanctuary from Zimbabwe, both leaders from South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary, raised concerns about staff training. Edie’s powerful testimony about the loss of dignity she feels using the Azure card, especially when shop assistants don't recognise the card or she is unnecessarily forced to show ID, moved Mr. Smith to agree to work on reminding stores of their obligation to train staff. Mr. Smith even agreed to meet with Cardiff City Council to discuss children accessing school trips if their parents are on the Azure card. It was a very successful morning and gave citizens and people seeking sanctuary the chance to hold the UKBA to account and to look together at solutions for some of the problems associated with the Azure card.

However, the team was most impressed by Mr. Smith’s agreement to build a relationship with South Wales CITIZENS for Sanctuary. Reynette Roberts, who chaired the meeting, said:

"This is a really positive outcome and I am looking forward to working with the UKBA to address the concerns of local citizens and people seeking sanctuary in Wales".

• CITIZENS for Sanctuary: Azure fails the consumer test
• Western Mail: Problems found with new asylum seekers’ payment card

Exposed: UK Border staff humiliate and trick asylum seekers

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Video report from a demonstration at the Cardiff UK Border Agency offices for Azerbaijani gay asylum seeker Babi Badalov on 17 September 2008

Source: The Guardian - 2 February

By Diane Taylor and Hugh Muir

Claims that asylum seekers are mistreated, tricked and humiliated by staff working for the UK Border Agency are to be investigated in parliament.

The home affairs select committee chairman, Keith Vaz, has called for an investigation following allegations that officials at one of the government's major centres for processing asylum seekers' claims express fiercely anti-immigration views and take pride in refusing applications.

Louise Perrett, who worked as a case owner at the Border Agency office in Cardiff for three and a half months last summer, claims staff kept a stuffed gorilla, a "grant monkey", which was placed as a badge of shame on the desk of any officer who approved an asylum application.

Perrett, 29, also alleges that one official boasted to her that he tested the claims of boys from African countries who said they had been forcibly conscripted as child soldiers by making them lie down on the floor and demonstrate how they shot at people in the bush. One method used to determine the authenticity of an asylum seeker claiming to be from North Korea was to ask whether the person ate chop suey.

Perrett, whose claims will become the basis for parliamentary questions from Jenny Willott, the Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Cardiff Central MP, said interviews were conducted without lawyers, independent witnesses or tape recorders. If a case was difficult, Perrett claims, she was simply advised to refuse it and "let a tribunal sort it out". Only cases raised by MPs appeared to be dealt with properly.

Perrett said she was given the power to make legally binding decisions on whether asylum seekers were granted or refused asylum after just five weeks' training. She also had the power to detain individuals and families for up to 28 days. Like her colleagues, she was obliged to sign the Official Secrets Act. She took legal advice before deciding to speak out publicly.

She claims the tone was set on the first day when one manager said of the asylum-seeker clients: "If it was up to me I'd take them all outside and shoot them." Another told her this was to be expected, adding: "No one in this office is very PC. In fact everyone is the exact opposite."

She told the Guardian: "I witnessed general hostility, rudeness and indifference towards clients. It was completely horrific. I highlighted my concerns to senior managers but I was just laughed at. I decided to speak out because nobody else was saying anything and major changes are needed at senior management level."

One of her cases involved a Congolese woman who had the right to remain in the UK. Perrett says a superior nevertheless decided the woman and her children should be removed, and asked officials whether there were any grounds to remove them. Frustrated, she approached a member of the legal department. His reply, according to Perrett, was: "Umbongo, umbongo, they kill them in the Congo."

Vaz said: "I am deeply concerned by a number of ex-UKBA workers who have spoken out about flaws in the points-based system and behaviour such as this. I will be writing to the chief executive, Lin Homer, to discover what steps are being taken to remedy this culture of disbelief and discrimination."

Willott said she was tabling a series of parliamentary questions. "Some of the cases which seem obvious to me are refused. UKBA has a responsibility to treat people as human beings, but from Louise's experience it seems that this does not always happen."

Matthew Coats, head of immigration at the UK Border Agency, disputed Perrett's claim that she raised concerns and the department declined to respond to her specific allegations. But he said the agency "expects the highest levels of integrity and behaviour from all our staff," adding: "We take all allegations of inappropriate behaviour extremely seriously."

~~~~~

No Borders South Wales have commented on the Guardian's report:

We have been drawing attention to the fact their is something very rotten at the goings on at 31-33 Newport Road for some time. It comes as no surprise to us that the staff are prejudiced and abusive, there are countless examples of the result of the behaviour Louise Perrett describes. We hope her bravery in going public will lead to the wholesale dismissal of staff and fundamental changes in the operation of the agency, if not it’s total abolition.

Demonstration to end destitution of refused asylum seekers in UK

Saturday 20th June as part of Refugee Week. It will start at 12 noon at Embankment and head off past Westminster to Trafalgar Square, where a rally in support of asylum seekers will be held.

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Amnesty International groups in London have teamed up with the Refugee Council, Refugee Action, Hackney Refugee & Migrant Support Group, London Detainee Support Group and others to organise a demonstration calling for an end to the destitution of refused asylum seekers.

The march takes place on Saturday 20th June as part of Refugee Week. It will start at 12 noon at Embankment and head off past Westminster to Trafalgar Square, where a rally in support of asylum seekers will be held.

Thousands of asylum seekers in the UK who have had their claims to asylum refused find themselves trapped in utter destitution. Most are refugees from countries torn apart by conflict where human rights abuses are rife. They cannot return to their countries of origin for fear of their lives. Yet they are prohibited from working in the UK and cut off from receiving benefits. They are condemned to live in poverty, dependent on the charity of others and vulnerable to the worst kinds of exploitation.

Many people have acknowledged the need to change a system that condemns refugees to poverty. A report in March last year by the Independent Asylum Commission states that the UK's treatment of asylum seekers "falls seriously below the standards of civilised society". The Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP wrote in a recent report for the Centre for Social Justice that "the policy of making asylum seekers destitute is mean and nasty and has not worked".

Speakers at the rally will include: Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK; Jeremy Corbyn MP; Maurice Wren, director of Asylum Aid; Donna Covey, director of the Refugee Council; Jean Roger Kaseki, human rights campaigner from the Democratic Republic ofCongo; Marilyn Bonzo, refugee from Zimbabwe; Makola Mayimbika, Poetic Justice;Emma Ginn, Medical Justice; and Weyman Bennett, joint secretary of Unite Against Fascism.

Amnesty International is part of StillHuman Still Here, a broad coalition of 29 organisations campaigning to bring all refused asylum seekers out of destitution by extending asylum support, permission to work, and access to healthcare and education until they are safe to return or granted leave to remain.

The coalition also includes the Refugee Council, Refugee Action, the Red Cross, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, and the Archbishop's Council of the Church of England.

Amnesty International groups in London have teamed up with the Refugee Council, Refugee Action, Hackney Refugee & Migrant Support Group, London Detainee Support Group and others to organise a demonstration calling for an end to the destitution of refused asylum seekers.

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Northern March Against Immigration Prisons!

Saturday 20th June 2009
Assemble 11:00 am
Centre for Life
Newcastle (Next to Central Station)

Tyneside Community Action for Refugees has called a Northern March Against Detention centres to highlight the grim reality that many refugees and other migrants have faced in Britain's Immigration Prisons.

At present there are a total of 3,105 bed spaces, in Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and Short Term Holding Facilities (STHFs), a planed increase of 1,300 bed spaces will bring the capacity to 4,405

For more information please contact:

Tyneside Community Action for Refugees (TCAR)
E-mail: tynesidecarn@yahoo.co.uk
http://www.tynesidecarn.co.uk/
075 0417 4530

Refuge week ~ events near you

http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk/Events/Events+Calendar.htm

National day of action to stop deportations

No Borders Wales have called for national support in their monthly day of action against BMI airlines, who are one of the airlines involved in forced deportations.

On the 20th of every month, a day of action against BMI Airlines takes place. Saturday 20th December will be the 3rd day of action of this campaign.

Everyday, an average of 180 migrants are deported from the UK. That’s one person every eight minutes.

These people haven’t done anything wrong. They are criminalised for doing what humans have done for thousands of years: moving in search of a better life. Moving to escape war, persecution, torture, physical abuse, poverty…

Governments across the world do not want us to see those being deported as people. They want to shroud them under statistics and treat them as pieces of meat.

Airline companies are a key link in the deportation industry. Without them it would be impossible for the state to implement this aspect of the migration regime and there can be no migration controls without
deportations.

People being deported are often handcuffed on the flight and there have been numerous reports of physical assaults on people being deported by the security personnel who escort them.

We once again call on all those who oppose the deportation industry and the inhumane treatment of migrants who are subjected to the wider regime of control that it forms an integral part of, to contact BMI and let them know what you think of their profiteering from this cruel practice.

A full list of contact details can be found here (PDF).

Being a Saturday, we suggest that callers focus on phoning the Reservations & General Enquiries numbers: 01332 854854; 01332 648181 and the BMI baby Reservations, 01332 648181.

Report of a recent action at Cardiff’s Winter Wonderland an event sponsored by Bmi baby, a subsidiary company of BMI Airlines.

Previous call out

Artist on the run

From The St. Petersburg Times

Artist and poet Babi Badalov feels that his life is threatened both in his home country Azerbaijan and in Russia because of his politically conscious art and because he is openly gay. Growing nationalism and increasing attacks on people from the former Soviet republics also means that Russia is not entirely safe for someone from Azerbaijan. Badalov thought he had found a new home in Cardiff, Wales, where he had been based since December 2006, but earlier this year the U.K.’s interior ministry denied his application for political asylum.

“[In Britain] I mixed with many people who applied for asylum — Afghans, Iranians, Somalis, people from all over the world. We went to the Refugee Council together, lived at the hotel together. There is such a word used there — ‘chance,’” Badalov said during a recent phone interview.

“You never know what will happen, everybody says it’s all up to ‘chance,’ that it’s a ‘lottery.’ You can have a solid case and still be denied asylum. Some other person can come [to the U.K.] just for the hell of it and receive [asylum].”

Badalov, who was one of the best-known artists in the St. Petersburg independent art scene centered at the Pushkinskaya 10 art squat in the 1990s, recently spent several weeks in the city, en route to Western Europe from Baku, Azerbaijan. While in town, he opened an exhibition of his work called “The Persian Ambassador,” which runs through December 28.

Deported to Azerbaijan from the U.K. on Sept. 20, despite a massive campaign in his defense launched by friends and supporters both in the U.K. and abroad, Badalov had to live covertly in Baku for two days, hiding from brothers who are angered by his homosexuality. His sister had warned him over the phone never to come to the country again.

“It’s not just my relatives. My whole small town is aghast that such a ‘faggot’ comes from our village,” he said.

“I can’t tell you how horrible it is. If I die and there’s a funeral, nobody will come: the mullah won’t come, nobody will read the Koran. [The body of a gay man] is a dirty, foul body. It cannot be touched; it cannot be washed. It must be thrown into a pit, because it’s so shameful. This attitude still exists there.”

Sending Badalov to Azerbaijan was also a danger to him as he is known for works criticizing the country’s authoritarian rulers.

“Azerbaijan is one of many countries that wants to be a member of the European Parliament. It wants to be an imitation of Europe, like Russia does, but in reality everything is rotting there, worse than it was in the Soviet Union,” he said.

“I tried to exhibit my work called ‘Mister Musor’ [Mr. Garbage] a few times, where I am standing on a heap of garbage in Lenin’s pose.

“When the Azeri President died, they put his monuments everywhere — on every central street, on every central square — giant, hi-tech posters are everywhere, posters of Heydar Aliyev. The main street in every village is named after Heydar Aliyev, while all the rest are rotting. You walk ten meters [away from the main street] and it’s all sores. People live in shit, eat bones, die of hunger. But when [current President Ilham Aliyev] visits, there’s a monument to his father, and everything is fine. Lenin has been resurrected.”

After two days in hiding in Baku, where he slept in an art gallery, Badalov flew to St. Petersburg on a plane ticket bought over the Internet by a friend in London.

Born in 1959 in Lerik, an Azeri village near the Iranian border, Badalov came to Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1980, after serving two years in the Soviet Army.

“As we all knew in Soviet times, St. Petersburg was the cultural capital. So, as a person interested in everything that is new, I decided to go to Petersburg, as many did, to be closer to the modern, progressive world,” he said.

“There I met nonconformist artists and went to their gatherings. But it was scary: I worked as a night guard, as a concrete worker; I had a limitnaya propiska (a limited residence permit) and lived in a creepy workers’ hostel.”

But Badalov recalls the early ‘90s in Petersburg with affection.

“When Russia opened up and the Soviet Union broke down, we became interesting,” he said.

“It was a golden time. There was a need for contemporary art. Western artists started to come, and it became easier to hold exhibitions. That is why my works began to sell, and it became much easier for me as an artist; I had money, a studio, contacts.”

This soon changed, as St. Petersburg became Russia’s “criminal capital.”

“These ‘New Russians’ emerged; it became scary to go out on the street. I got scared and ran from Russia,” said Badalov.

Badalov first moved to Turkey, but could not put down roots there. He then moved back to Azerbaijan, where his life soon became intolerable.

“I was forced to get married and live behind the mask required by my parents and relatives,” he said.

“It was a creepy time. I acted like an actor, always playing some role, controlling myself.”
In 2006, he was invited to do a workshop as part of an international art program for two weeks in Oxford. With a British visa already in hand, he later decided to move to the U.K. for good.

While he is fond of his Russian friends and the Russian language, the country is not mutually welcoming to Badalov. He said he received threats from unknown men in the street, who told him that he should leave.

“I criticized the Russian authorities in some of my poems,” said Badalov, who wrote a poem about Anna Politkovskaya, the Novaya Gazeta journalist and persistent critic of the Kremlin’s politics who was shot to death in Moscow in 2006.

“I read it in Italy; it mentioned Putin and Anna Politkovskaya. I have some other provocative poems, so I am simply afraid to stay in Russia. It’s scary there. Even though I love Russian culture and my best friends live there.

“I was visiting a friend [in Petersburg], and I was horrified when I walked back home. In the West, it is just the opposite; I like to walk at nights there, rather than in the daytime.”

Thomas Campbell, the exhibition’s curator, described Babi as an “iconic figure” for the St. Petersburg alternative art scene for his vision, incredible productivity, and willingness to join other artists’ projects.

Babi Badalov’s blog

Second Shut down BMI day

November 20th 2008: Shut down BMI day

Everyday, an average of 180 migrants are deported from the UK. That's one person every eight minutes.

They haven't done anything wrong.

They are criminalised for doing what humans have done for thousands of years: moving in search of a better life. Moving to escape war, persecution, torture, physical abuse, poverty...

Governments across the world do not want us to see those being deported as people. They want to shroud them under statistics and treat them as pieces of meat.

Airline companies are a key link in the deportation industry. Without them it would be impossible for the state to implement this aspect of the migration regime and there can be no migration controls without deportations.

People being deported are often handcuffed on the flight and there have been numerous reports of physical assaults on people being deported by the security personnel who escort them.

On 20th September 2008, No Borders South Wales activist Babi Badalov was deported on a BMI flight to Azerbaijan. In an email following the deportation, BMI CEO Nigel Turner said that:

"I do not have the time or resources to investigate each case myself nor
do BMI”

But BMI were given plenty of information and time to 'investigate'. Despite hundreds of telephone calls, emails and faxes to BMI raising objections to the removal, they chose to ignore this and ensured that the deportation took place.

BMI employees told those ringing on the day that they could not refuse to carry people being removed and it was out of their control. However, other airlines have refused to carry out deportations in the past. XL Airways announced in 2007 that they would no longer carry refused asylum-seekers who were being forcibly removed from the UK.

BMI is the UK's second largest full service airline. By taking part in deportations, they do the governments dirty work for them and in the process, make money from human misery. In 2007 BMI reported profits of £15.5 million. How much of this was soaked in the blood of migrants who
they deported against their will?

Following the successful day of action against BMI on October the 20th, No Borders South Wales are calling for another day of action to shut down BMI on the 20th of November.

We call on BMI to no longer take part in the forced deportation of migrants.

We are focusing this campaign around the 20th day of each month, after the date that BMI took Babi away from those who loved him and those he loved.

Please contact BMI and register your disapproval at their role in deporting people to places they do not wish to go back to, for whatever the reason this may be. Urge BMI to follow the other airlines who have taken an ethical stance and who refuse to carry out any more deportations.

On 20th November let's once again hit BMI with everything we've got! Ring, fax and e-mail the company as much as possible on this day and every month thereafter until BMI no longer take part this cruel practice.

BMI flights operate from the following UK Airports:

Aberdeen, Belfast (City), Birmingham, Bristol, Durham Tees Valley, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey, Leeds Bradford, London City, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle International, Norwich.

BMI Contact Details

Head office
Donington Hall, Castle Donington, Derby. DE74 2SB

E-mail Nigel Turner, BMI Chief Executive Officer at:
nigel.turner@flybmi.com

Switchboard
Telephone: 01334 854 000
Open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm

Customer Relations
Telephone: 01332 854 321
Fax: 01332 854 875
Open: Mon-Fri 9:30am-4:30pm

Reservations and general enquiries
Telephone: 01332 854854 & 01332 648181
Fax: 01709 314993
Opening hours: 7am-9pm

Bmi baby reservations
Telephone 01332 648181
Opening hours: 8am-8pm

Shut down BMI Airlines day

In 2007 the UK government deported 63,140 migrants. Airline companies are a key link in the deportation industry. Without them it would be very difficult, if not impossible, for the state to implement this aspect of the migration regime and there can be no migration controls without deportations.

People who are being deported are often handcuffed on the flight and there have been a number reports of physical assaults on deportees by the security personnel who escort them.

On 20th September 2008, No Borders South Wales activist Babi Badalov was deported on a BMI flight to Azerbaijan, where has experienced physical abuse and state persecution. Despite hundreds of telephone calls, emails and faxes to BMI raising objections to the removal, BMI chose to ignore this and ensured the deportation took place.

BMI is the UK’s second largest full service airline with reported profits of £15.5 million in 2007. The airline is responsible for carrying migrants who are being deported from the UK against their will by the British Government.

BMI employees told those ringing on the day that BMI could not refuse to fly Babi and it was out of their control. However, other airlines have refused to fly deportees in the past including XL Airways who announced in 2007 that they would no longer carry failed asylum-seekers who were being forcibly removed from the UK.

BMI must be made aware of the impact of their actions on the lives of the people they deport and how their image and business will be affected if they continue this practice. We need to let them know that they can not take part in such activities without consequences.

No Borders South Wales are calling for a sustained campaign against BMI. We call on BMI to no longer take part in the forced deportation of migrants.

Contact BMI and register your disapproval at their role in deporting people back to places they do not wish to go back to, for whatever the reason this may be. Urge BMI to follow the other airlines who have taken an ethical stance and who refuse to carry out any more deportations.

On the 20th October let’s hit BMI with everything we’ve got! Then let’s do this on the 20th of every month until BMI see sense.

BMI Contact Details:

Head office: Donington Hall, Castle Donington, Derby. DE74 2SB
Switchboard
Telephone: 01334 854 000
Open Mon-Fro 8am-6pm
Customer Relations
Tel: 01332 854 321
Fax: 01332 854 875
Open: Mon-Fri 9:30am-4:30pm
Group Reservations
Tel: 01332 854500
Open: Mon-Fri 9am- 5:30pm
Baggage Claims
Tel: 0115 8517 005
Open: Mon-Sun 8am- 8pm
Highflyers
Tel: 01332 854454
Fax: 01332 854 238
Special Assistance
Tel: 0131 3445600
Textphone: 01332 854015
Open: Mon-Sun 7am-9pm
Diamond Club
Tel: 01332 854 274
Fax: 01623 724099
Open: Mon-Fri 8am-8pm
Refunds
Tel: 01332 854 534
Open: Mon-Fri 9am-3:30pm
Technical Support
Tel: 01509 686 628
Open: Mon-Sat 8am- 7pm
Charter Dept
Tel: 01332 854 656
Open Mon-Fri 9am-pm
BMI Baby Reservations
Tel: 01332 648 181
Mon-Sun 8am-8pm

BMI flights operate from the following UK Airports:
Aberdeen, Belfast (City), Birmingham, Bristol, Durham Tees Valley, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey, Leeds Bradford, London City, London Gatwick, London, Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle Intl, Norwich

Call-out leaflet (PDF)

Exhibition of Cardiff gay artist to go ahead despite deportation

Media release
no borders wales

An exhibition of the work of Azerbaijani artist Babi Badalov is to go ahead despite the fact that he has been deported from the UK. The show opens at 6pm on Saturday 27th September running until Sunday 19th October at the tactileBosch studios, Llandaf North, Cardiff.

Babi, who has become a fixture of the Cardiff art scene since he claimed asylum in the UK and moved to the city in 2006, has worked with friends to make sure the show will go on.

Babi, an openly gay, internationally renowned radical artist and poet from Azerbaijan was arrested on Tuesday 16th September while signing on at the UK Border Agency Offices in Cardiff. He went for his weekly sign-in with friends from the Keep Babi Safe in Cardiff Campaign.

When he did not come back out of the building campaigners became concerned and enquired after his well-being only to be told he had been detained and would be removed from the country as soon as possible. Despite massive pressure from MPs, campaigners, and friends, Babi was deported on a BMI flight from Heathrow last Saturday 20th September.

On hearing of Babi's deportation, Kim Fielding tactileBOSCH's Director and one of the curators of the exhibition, said:

“This is deeply saddening for all of us at tactileBOSCH. Babi is a unique character, an asset to the arts community in Cardiff, someone to be treasured, not deported”.

Neesha Lamb a friend and No Borders South Wales activist said:

“We are all incredibly sad that Babi is not in Cardiff any longer. He is inspirational and we feel like he has been ripped away from us. It is traumatic when someone you love and have a connection with is taken back to a place that they truly fear. We're really glad that his exhibition is still going ahead despite his deportation and are grateful to all at tactileBosch for helping make this happen”.

No Borders South Wales, who worked with Babi on his campaign to stay will be holding a stall to spread the word about the UK’s racist migration regime. They will also be holding a collection to help Babi survive in Azerbaijan.

----Ends----
Notes for editors:
More info about the exhibition can be found at the tactileBosch website here: http://www.tactilebosch.org/
Background info on Babi’s campaign: http://noborderswales.wordpress.com/campaign-to-stay/keep-babi-safe-in-cardiff/
For his current situation: http://noborderswales.wordpress.com/tag/babi-badalov/


Among others Babi's campaign has gained the support of writer and playwright Patrick Jones, Leanne Wood AM, Bethan Jenkins AM, Chris Bryant MP, Adam Price MP, Jenny Willott MP, Cardiff Council Leader Rodney Berman and Deputy Leader Neil McEvoy.

Babi’s art and poetry have been explicitly critical of the government and prominent members of present/past regimes in Azerbaijan. These factors have led Babi to become a target of repression and persecution over many years. Because of his sexuality and the radical nature of his creative activities, he has endured government-led suppression together with physical and mental abuse from other sectors of society. He has now been completely disowned by his family. His brothers have threatened to kill him to defend their honour because of the shame that his being gay is seen as having brought on the family.

A recent ILGA report into the human rights of Gay people in Azerbaijan states that the price of open homosexuality is often “estrangement from family, bullying, social exclusion, discrimination, blackmailing and hate crimes”. Similarly an Amnesty International report into freedom of expression in the country cited numerous instances of “harassment, including physical abuse at the hands of law enforcement officials” and a number of “violent attacks which have led to serious injury and even death”.

Babi arrived in Cardiff in December 2006 and engaged fully with various parts of the local community, making many friends in his new home. He remained continued to produce art and poetry despite the mental stress brought about in part by the precariousness of his immigration status. He is in the process of writing a book about his art/gay life experiences and is also working on a film addressing the rise of Muslim fundamentalism. This latter work, as well as many other aspects of his art, would of course be impossible in his country of origin. For the first time in his life, Babi felt happy and safe in Cardiff. He felt able to openly express himself artistically, politically and with regard to his sexuality, without associated feelings of fear, shame and imminent repression.

Airline Caves In To Anti-Deportation Pester Power

Azerbaijan Airlines have bowed to public pressure, and refused to deport a gay radical artist Babi Badalov (Babi), who fears for his life if returned home.

The Airline has been inundated with phone calls from friends and supporters expressing their extreme concern about the company’s involvement in the deportation. Spokesman Omar Khamal told one campaigner:

“Azerbaijan Airlines will not be carrying out the deportation now or in the future.”

Another employee, who would identify himself only as Tahir, told another of Babi’s supporters:

“We were asked to remove this man, but we’ve told the Home Office we’re refusing to do this. He won’t be flown out on one of our flights. We’ve had people contacting us about this all day, and we haven’t been able to do any work or sell any tickets. This morning I got 50 phone calls and 60 e-mails. It’s really affecting our business”.

The Home Office refused to comment on their relationship with the airline, and are tight-lipped about whether they will seek to deport Babi using another company.

Babi Badalov, the internationally renowned artist from Azerbaijan, was snatched by UK Border officers in Cardiff on Tuesday this week. He was held in a police cell, and has since been moved to Campsfield detention centre where he was told he would be forcibly removed this Saturday. He has received no new removal directions since the Airline’s U-turn.

Friend and activist Hywel Bishop from No Borders South Wales has said:

“We’re sceptical about Azerbaijan Airlines’ assurances they won’t be carrying out the deportation. Previous experiences with airlines tell us that they will say anything to fob people off and stop them telephoning. This was the case with Kemi Ayinde a migrant from Nigeria who was due to be deported some time ago on a Virgin Nigeria flight. Many supporters received emails stating Virgin Nigeria had never carried out a deportation flight before, which was just not true.

“Until we know for certain that Babi will not be on that flight we’ll keep contacting the airline to complain. Ideally they’ll be so inconvenienced by this protest that they’ll think twice about operating removal flights in the future.”

----Ends----

Notes for editors:

Background info on Babi’s campaign: http://noborderswales.wordpress.com/campaign-to-stay/keep-babi-safe-in-cardiff/

For his current situation: http://noborderswales.wordpress.com/tag/babi-badalov/

For further info email: noborderswales@riseup.net

Babakhan Badalov, (Babi) the openly gay, internationally renowned radical artist and poet from Azerbaijan was arrested last Tuesday while signing on at the UK Border Agency Offices in Cardiff. Babi went for his weekly sign-in with friends from the Keep Babi Safe in Cardiff Campaign. When he did not come back out of the building campaigners became concerned and enquired after his well-being only to be told he had been detained and would be removed from the country as soon as possible. At present he is in Campsfield Detention centre in Oxford.

Among others Babi's campaign has gained the support of writer and playwright Patrick Jones, Leanne Wood AM, Bethan Jenkins AM, Chris Bryant MP, Adam Price MP, Jenny Willott MP, Cardiff Council Leader Rodney Berman and Deputy Leader Neil McEvoy.

Babi’s art and poetry have been explicitly critical of the government and prominent members of present/past regimes in Azerbaijan. These factors have led Babi to become a target of repression and persecution over many years. Because of his sexuality and the radical nature of his creative activities, he has endured government-led suppression together with physical and mental abuse from other sectors of society, including his own family (who have threatened to kill him to defend their honour).

A recent ILGA report into the human rights of Gay people in Azerbaijan states that the price of open homosexuality is often “estrangement from family, bullying, social exclusion, discrimination, blackmailing and hate crimes”. Similarly an Amnesty International report into freedom of expression in the country cited numerous instances of “harassment, including physical abuse at the hands of law enforcement officials” and a number of “violent attacks which have led to serious injury and even death”.

Since arriving in Cardiff in December 2006, Babi has engaged fully with various parts of the local community and has made many friends in his new home. He is still producing poetry, is writing a book about his art/gay life experiences and is also working on a film addressing the rise of Muslim fundamentalism. This latter work, as well as many other aspects of his art, would of course be impossible in his country of origin. For the first time in his life, Babi felt happy and safe in Cardiff. He felt able to openly express himself artistically, politically and with regard to his sexuality, without associated feelings of fear, shame and imminent repression.