Good news from North London

Alketa Hoti, who has been campaigning against deportation with her supporters in the Haringey Campaign for Asylum Seekers, won her appeal against deportation to Kosovo at the end of April.

Alketa’s appeal was based on Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The adjudicator ruled: "I believe that it would be inhuman to return [Alketa] at the present time, and that her removal would be in breach of her human right to respect for her physical and moral integrity.... It would not be proportionate to the legitimate aims of the UK to return her."

Alketa is still waiting to find out for how long she will be given leave to remain in the UK, and also for clarification of the status of her husband and son. Obviously she is hoping that the whole family will get Indefinite Leave to Remain.

If the ruling on her case would help anybody in a similar situation, Alketa would be happy to share information, although there are aspects of her case which are private and confidential.

Alketa sends her thanks to everybody who helped her and supported her case.

And good news from west London….

Victory for Anwar Dholan

Anwar Dholan won his appeal against the rejection of his asylum application at the end of May. He has now been granted refugee status and indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

The appeal adjudicator ruled against the Home Office on the grounds that they were unable to produce a number of important documents that Anwar had provided to them when he made his claim. These documents are presumed to have been lost. Whilst Anwar would of course have preferred to win the case on its merits rather than on a technicality, this is a fantastic and well deserved result for him and his family.

Anwar is a committed socialist who led opposition to the right-wing governments in Pakistan. He has been a leader of the Labour Party of Pakistan and an active trade unionist all his life.

His victory comes at a time when the forces of militarism and nationalism are again threatening the lives of millions of people in the Indian sub-continent. Anwar led protests against the nuclear tests carried out by Pakistan in 1997/8. The persecution he suffered following the protests led him to seek asylum in Britain. He remains opposed to the aggression of both the Indian and Pakistani governments and has given active backing to the peace movements in the region.

Anwar sends his thanks to all those who supported him and calls for continued support for others, like himself, who are fighting against the racism and injustice of the UK immigration system.

Meanwhile in North West London:Mary Njuguna fights on

Mary continues her campaign to be allowed to live in peace in the UK with her son, 7 year old British-born, Patrick Wandia. Immigration Officers came to Mary and Patrick’s home at the end of June demanding the right to search for evidence of illegal employment. Despite living in the UK for 9 years and being a trained nursery nurse, Mary is forbidden from taking employment. She is forced to turn down job offers and live in poverty while the Home Office continues to harass her and thousands of other asylum seekers.