From: Mason Sofia [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Sat 24/05/2008 10:14
Subject:
From
a group of concerned students and academics at the University of Nottingham.
For immediate use, 24/05/08 SATURDAY
Notts Uni detainee innocent but still facing deportation
Hicham Yezza, a popular, respected and valued former PhD
student and current employee of the University of Nottingham faces deportation to Algeria on Sunday 1st June. This follows his unjust arrest
under the Terrorism Act 2000 on Wednesday 14th May alongside Rizwaan
Sabir and their release without charge six days later.
On his release Hicham was re-arrested under immigration
legislation and, due to confusion over his visa documentation, charged with
offences relating to his immigration status. He sought legal advice and
representation over these matters whilst in custody. On Friday 23rd
May, he was suddenly served with a deportation notice and moved to an
immigration detention centre. The deportation is being urgently appealed.
Hicham has been resident in the U.K. for 13 years, during
which time he has studied for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Nottingham. He is an active member of debating societies, a prominent member of an arts and theatre group, and has been writing editorials for the Student Peace Movement magazine for the last five years. He is well known and popular on campus amongst the university community and has established himself as a voracious reader and an authority on literature and music. An application for British citizenship was underway, and he had been planning to make his yearly trip to Wales for the Hay Festival when he was suddenly arrested.
Alf Nilsen, a research fellow at in the school of Politics
and International Relations says "This is a clear case of the police
trying to cover up their completely unjustified targetting of of these two
innocent men by making Hicham look guilty by deporting him. Hicham is
entirely innocent and the rushed and heavy-handed way in which the authorities are dealing with this matter is outrageous."
[ENDS]
Contact: Sam Walton 07814683906, [log in to unmask]; or Musab
Younis: 078901018073, [log in to unmask]
***************************
We’re focussing our campaigning on the following areas:
1) Lobbying the Home Office We have been made aware that a
call from an MP to the Home Office, in particular Liam Byrne, the relevant
minister, has the possibility to stop the deoprtation in its tracks. One of our
major focusses is trying to get particular MPs to make this representation. If
the MPs we have close contact with are unsuccessful in the immediate short
term, we will be encouraging more and more people to contact their MPs to make
representations.
Direct representations to the
Home Office are presumably relevant as well, as are representations to other
parts of government (up to and including Jaqui Smith, Gordon Brown etc.), which
we will be pursuing if our initial efforts are not successful.
-
please keep us informed of any such contact as we will be
trying to keep track of which MPs have been ‘lobbied’ and whether this has been
succesful.
2) Legal challenge The main legal avenue is to seek an
injunction, which would basically grant a stay of deportation. Whilst the cost
of this is minimal we are seeking to build up a legal fund as we anticipate
that future legal costs may mount. If an initial stay of deportation is
received it seems likely that there would be much more legal work to be done to
ensure Hicham’s release. Our understanding is that if Hicham’s immediate
deportation was stopped he would then have to face the immigration charges.
We are looking to get the best
possible legal advice and would appreciate any recommendations for relevant
specialist solicitors that may be available. That said we are receiving
recommendations all the time and have many avenues to explore through the
experience of some of our members in anti-deportation campaigns in relation to
asylum.
3) Media We are working to mount a coherent and sustained
media campaign and we’re already off to a flying start. We are seeking first to
work through known reliable journalists so that we get the right message out
first, before moving on to sending out press releases en masse. We would very
much appreciate contact details for journalists which people can vouch for.
We would appreciate help from yourselves in any way you feel
possible. However here are a few things we have thought of:
First of all money to cover legal costs is a huge concern of
us at the moment. We would appreciate any contributions either from the Party itself or personal donations and if you were able to spread this message
throughout the party we would be very grateful. We are in a situation where
even small amounts would make a real difference with the added benefit that it is a clear demonstration of solidarity which will inevitably boost moral and
make a reality our aim of having the broadest possible base of support.
Also if sitting MEPs or councillors were able to use their
positions in any way to either make formal representations, or simply to raise
the profile of the campaign we would be very grateful. We are already working
on model motions and resolutions for unions and similar organisations, which
could also be used in councils or parliaments.
Please send us any thoughts you have on these ideas and
please pass on this email address ([log in to unmask]) and our phone
number (07948 590262) to anyone who can help our campaign.
This message has been checked for viruses but the contents of an attachment may still contain software viruses, which could damage your computer system: you are advised to perform your own checks. Email communications with the University of Nottingham may be monitored as permitted by UK legislation.
__________________________________________________________
Sent from Yahoo! Mail.
A Smarter Email http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html
