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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| 'If he is sent back to Iraq, he will be killed' | 'If he is sent back to Iraq, he will be killed' |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| Hind Abed sees her husband every day – in Colnbrook detention centre, west London, where he is detained under threat of deportation. Together they can listen to the sound of planes departing from nearby Heathrow airport. | Hind Abed sees her husband every day – in Colnbrook detention centre, west London, where he is detained under threat of deportation. Together they can listen to the sound of planes departing from nearby Heathrow airport. |
| The 18-year-old fled with her family from bombings and gun attacks in Baghdad. They arrived in Britain five years ago and Abed has been granted indefinite leave to remain. Last year, she married Anwer al-Zaidi, 28, in an Islamic ceremony; she is a Shia Muslim, he is a Sunni from a different area of Baghdad. Her family, she says, does not approve of the match. | The 18-year-old fled with her family from bombings and gun attacks in Baghdad. They arrived in Britain five years ago and Abed has been granted indefinite leave to remain. Last year, she married Anwer al-Zaidi, 28, in an Islamic ceremony; she is a Shia Muslim, he is a Sunni from a different area of Baghdad. Her family, she says, does not approve of the match. |
| "I love him," she said, "but if he is sent back to Iraq, he will be killed. | "I love him," she said, "but if he is sent back to Iraq, he will be killed. |
| Al-Zaidi came to the UK in 2010 to study English at a language school in London. He was arrested on 19 May and spent two days in a London police station before being taken to Colnbrook. | Al-Zaidi came to the UK in 2010 to study English at a language school in London. He was arrested on 19 May and spent two days in a London police station before being taken to Colnbrook. |
| Abed says: "His father and two brothers were killed in Baghdad because he had worked for a government ministry. His mother is in hospital and he won't have anywhere to live in Baghdad. Last week, he received a letter from the Home Office saying they want to send him back to Iraq. | Abed says: "His father and two brothers were killed in Baghdad because he had worked for a government ministry. His mother is in hospital and he won't have anywhere to live in Baghdad. Last week, he received a letter from the Home Office saying they want to send him back to Iraq. |
| "If he goes back to Iraq he will be targeted. I was crying when he received the letter. I can see him every day in Colnbrook. If I don't he will be upset and uneasy. He's not OK, very tired and not sleeping. I'm very scared. | "If he goes back to Iraq he will be targeted. I was crying when he received the letter. I can see him every day in Colnbrook. If I don't he will be upset and uneasy. He's not OK, very tired and not sleeping. I'm very scared. |
| "My family came here to get away from the violence." | "My family came here to get away from the violence." |
| The last charter flight to Baghdad that removed Iraqis forcibly deported from the UK was in March 2011. The Home Office says it sent back 103 people to Iraq in the first quarter of 2012, but that figure includes those who returned voluntarily. | The last charter flight to Baghdad that removed Iraqis forcibly deported from the UK was in March 2011. The Home Office says it sent back 103 people to Iraq in the first quarter of 2012, but that figure includes those who returned voluntarily. |
| James Read, the advocacy co-ordinator of Detention Action, which supports those facing deportation, welcomed the vote in the Iraqi parliament that banned the forced return of tens of thousands of failed asylum seekers from Europe. He believes there are considerable numbers of Iraqis still being held in UK immigration detention centres. | James Read, the advocacy co-ordinator of Detention Action, which supports those facing deportation, welcomed the vote in the Iraqi parliament that banned the forced return of tens of thousands of failed asylum seekers from Europe. He believes there are considerable numbers of Iraqis still being held in UK immigration detention centres. |
| "Some people have been detained for over a year. From our understanding, there have been a few recent returns of individuals where they have Iraqi passports," he said. | "Some people have been detained for over a year. From our understanding, there have been a few recent returns of individuals where they have Iraqi passports," he said. |
| "Given that decision in Baghdad it's going to be even more difficult to justify holding Iraqis in detention when there is not a remotely realistic option of enforced return. It's a matter of concern that so many are still being held." | "Given that decision in Baghdad it's going to be even more difficult to justify holding Iraqis in detention when there is not a remotely realistic option of enforced return. It's a matter of concern that so many are still being held." |
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