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In London: Radical history open meeting about asylum seeker revolt on Tues 24 June + demo against EU Return Directive on Monday 16 June

Invitation to a Radical History Discussion – open meeting:
Resistance in the UK’s Detention Centres in the Last Decade
Date & Time: Tuesday 24 June 2008, 7 pm.
Venue: T&G, Transport House, 128 Theobald’s Road, London, WC1X 8TN Map.

Also in London on Monday 16th June, details on http://www.outrageousdirective.org/
Demonstrate at 12 noon outside the London office of the European Commission at 8 Storey’s Gate, SW1P 3AT [Map] against the “Return Directive” to be voted on by the European Parliament on 17th or 18th June 2008 which will allow EU member states to:
* Detain non-EU migrants for up to 18 months
* Detain and deport migrants including vulnerable people, unaccompanied minors (under 18 years of age) and pregnant women
* Expel unaccompanied minors and other migrants to a country where they have neither family nor legal support
* Ban an expelled migrant from re-entering any part of the EU for up to 5 years (although UK is already looking at making this 10 for some deportees, see:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/Newszine95/HC321.html ).

See also: Shut Down EU Migrant Hunters! – Actions against Frontex
Continue reading In London: Radical history open meeting about asylum seeker revolt on Tues 24 June + demo against EU Return Directive on Monday 16 June →

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Amdani’s deportation flight cancelled on day of removal – and moved today to Campsfield

Amdani Juma’s deportation flight to Burundi via Nairobi on Kenya Airways flight KQ101 was cancelled at zero hour on Tuesday June 10th as an application for an judicial review, accepted by the High Court, was finally acknowledged. No thanks to the Home Office who could have ended his misery by discretion without forcing him to go through another court hearing (and still could), or to the immigration enforcement unit who kept him waiting until the last minute.

Supporters visited him all afternoon at Colnbrook immigration removal centre (run by private contractor Serco with transportation support from Group 4), and stayed well after the flight was seen to take off from Heathrow airport. Amdani’s legal battle to stay has only just begun, and he is not yet out on bail. He was also taken away by the Home Office during visiting this evening and was moved immediately to Campsfield detention centre in Oxfordshire. His bail hearing is set for Monday June 12th in London so he could remain in Campsfield until then, although this is by no means certain. But we can all be relieved and happy he was not on that flight (whilst knowing it was very likely carrying other forced deportees), and we look forward to having him back in Nottingham soon. The campaigning will continue in earnest. More to follow.
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AMDANI JUMA: BAIL HEARING MONDAY 11 AUGUST

Amdani Juma, the Nottingham Community worker whose deportation has been delayed pending Judicial Review, is to attend a Bail Renewal Application Hearing at Loughborough Reporting Centre on Monday August 11. Mr Juma?s Judicial Review Hearing was adjourned for three weeks on Tuesday July 29, after his solicitor and Home Office legal representatives failed to reach agreement.
A short campaign video paying tribute to our good friend Amdani Juma can be seen on YouTube: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7qNho3_auGA

Background – from Press release by Friends of Amdani :: Wed 6 August 2008
Contacts: Rob Peutrell ? 07846765761 or Leo Keely ? 07742884335
Amdani Juma, a refugee HIV prevention and community worker in Nottingham, was detained by the immigration authorities on Friday 30th May 2008. when he went to sign at a Reporting Centre in Loughborough. He spent 18 days in detention. His removal was postponed once to give both sides more time and then a second time on June 10th pending a Judicial Review application. He was released and returned to Nottingham after an initial bail hearing in London on Monday 16th June. The purpose of the August 11 hearing is to ascertain whether Mr Juma has adhered to his bail conditions. Amdani is a Burundian national. In 2003, he was granted 3 years Humanitarian Protection but his later application for Indefinite Leave to Remain was turned down. A further application for discretion by the Home Office was also refused resulting in his present detention. Alan Simpson, MP for Nottingham South, and Nottingham Council leader Jon Collins have both spoken out in opposition to Amdani?s proposed removal. There have been three demonstrations in Nottingham and an online and paper petition combined have a total of over 5,600 signatures. http://www.petitiononline.com/amdani/petition.html contains many testimonials from the community and has over 2,500 signatures. Paper petitions total almost 3,000. Signatories include Alan Simpson MP, and academic Noam Chomsky.

Update following Aug 11 hearing: Amdani’s bail has been renewed until November.
Continue reading AMDANI JUMA: BAIL HEARING MONDAY 11 AUGUST →

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Campaigning continues as Hicham & Amdani remain incarcerated

These are two very different stories, and by no means the only ones in Nottingham or anywhere else in UK that show up the distress caused by state border and immigration policies.

Amdani Juma, refugee advisor and HIV/AIDS professional (and all round wonderful guy from Burundi, under humanitarian protection in Britain for 5 years) has had his deportation on Wednesday delayed, but only until evening of Tuesday 10th June. He has been moved from Lindholme detention centre near Doncaster to Colnbrook removal centre at Heathrow airport. The pressure on him must be insummountable. We must stop his removal. More (including news that Noam Chomsky has signed Amdani’s petition) is at: http://www.nottsrefugeeforum.org.uk/ &
See http://friendsofamdani.wordpress.com/ and sign the e-petition.

Hicham Yezza, Nottingham University employee (and peace activist from Algeria, settled in UK for 13 years) has had his deportation cancelled pending a judicial review application but he continues to be held in a detention centre in Dover. He has bravely gone to the press about his experience inside and his resistance to constantly being moved from one detention centre to another (click here to hear MP3 of him speaking). More at:
http://freehichamyezza.wordpress.com/

Continued campaigning on these two high profile cases is vitally important, and we can only hope this results in Amdani and Hicham coming back to Nottingham soon, but let’s not kid ourselves that there are not thousands of others who are in need of support. Huge numbers (around 20,000) forced deportations take place a year which destroy livelihoods made or remade here in Britain. The situation in detention (or so-called ‘removal’) centres is horrific and punative. People are subjected to terrifying dawn raids by the immigration police. After periods of detention sometimes of many years, our neighbours are being transported to frightening and uncertain futures and for some, to their graves. Amdani and Hicham know this as much as anyone.

Britain seems like a strange place at the moment. Whilst anti-immigrant hysteria continues in the press and for political expediency, online projects like Moving Here celebrate and also recognise the hopes, experiences and sacrifices of voluntary migrants like Hicham who choose to live, study and work in Britain. Living projects like City of Sanctuary in Sheffield and our own Nottingham and Notts Refugee Forum work towards a long term future for refugees and asylum seekers in our communities. But still this will only reach a minority of those being victimised by government policies which mean even more detention places are being created at this very moment (from 2,600 to 4,000). Therefore, the momentum gained in these excellent high-profile campaigns must be maintained to build a movement against incarceration of any person just because they happen to be born on other soil. We may even be able to take the next step and begin to build a mass movement against the very ideas of nation states and their methods of control.

Find out more about No Borders at our event on 13th June, details at:
http://www.veggies.org.uk/event.php?ref=1319

Also read: The truth behind the deportation statistics,
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2006/11/357466.html
Continue reading Campaigning continues as Hicham & Amdani remain incarcerated →

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Support website for Amdani Juma – help us keep him in Nottingham

You can help stop the Deportation of Amdani Juma on Wednesday:
http://friendsofamdani.wordpress.com/
Please go to the site and sign the e-petition now and also send letters to the airline & ministers (model letter on website), and tell everyone you know to do the same. Do anything else you can think of.
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Jane Mary Mutetsi’s incarceration & the meaning of No Borders

Jane Mary Mutetsi's incarceration & the meaning of No BordersAs reported over the last week, Nottingham and Notts Refugee Forum volunteer Jane Mary Mutetsi is still detained by the police. We are more than sick of this. All who value freedom must say no to this continuous abuse of asylum seekers, refugees and migrant workers. We maintain that no one is illegal. We in No Borders defy the very idea of nation states and national borders that mean nothing to us. The greatest hypocrisy is that capitalist exploitation of labour and the environment is global, and war can be waged across borders by the rulers and armies of nation states against the wishes of most of the world’s population. Yet people are not free to move from one place to another to escape this madness. Little longer than 100 years ago passports did not even exist. Further before that, neither did nation states with border controls. These are human constructs that can and must be challenged and ultimately destroyed.
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Hicham Yezza refuses to be transported to fifth detention centre

Following the cancellation order on his deportation and despite being unjustly incarcerated for over two weeks, Hicham Yezza has received news that he is to be transported to a fifth detention centre. He released this statement today from Colnbrook immigration removal centre saying, “I am […] refusing to go. I am not a piece of luggage, but a human being and deserve to be treated as such.? Read more on Indymedia:
http://notts.indymedia.org.uk

Also read interview with Hicham and a damning article about the current climate of ‘self-censorship’ in universities in Guardian newspaper today:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/new…2283183,00.html
Please note Hich is a a respected anti-militarist activist who has been in Nottingham for 13 years.
Continue reading Hicham Yezza refuses to be transported to fifth detention centre →

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Amdani Juma indymedia report, petition, letter to home office & press release – and another demo on Monday

Amdani Juma indymedia report, petition, letter to home office & press release - and another demo on MondayAmdani Juma is due to be deported to Burundi on Wednesday. Please visit http://notts.indymedia.org.uk for model letters to home office, Kenya Airways & an online petition, plus reports and pictures.
There will be a second demonstration in Nottingham’s Market Square on Monday June 2nd at 5pm. Let’s make it even bigger than Saturday’s demo.. It is requested by the organisers that everyone wears black if possible.
Continue reading Amdani Juma indymedia report, petition, letter to home office & press release – and another demo on Monday →

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Nottingham Market Square demos on Sat (1pm) and Mon (5pm) against detention & deportation of Amdani

To protest against Amdani Juma’s detention this morning and Notice of deportation (for next Wednesday), two demonstrations have been quickly organised, one for tomorrow Saturday 31st May at 1pm, and the other at 5pm on Monday 2nd June, both in Nottingham’s Market Square. Please come and show your support for Amdani. Some placards will be provided by the Friends of Amdani support group or make your own, bring drums or other instruments, or just bring yourself, family and friends, and make your feelings known!. Read more
Continue reading Nottingham Market Square demos on Sat (1pm) and Mon (5pm) against detention & deportation of Amdani →

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Amdani Juma detained while reporting at Loughborough – removal date set Wed 4th June.

Amdani Juma removal date has been set for Wed 4th June on Kenya Airways flight KQ101 (Terminal 4, Heathrow) which is the usual flight used by government for deportations to Africa.

Amdani Juma detained while reporting at Loughborough - removal date set Wed 4th June.Following Jane Mary Mutetsi’s detention earlier this week, our other well known friend & NNRF volunteer Amdani Juma, who has been in the UK for many years as a survivor from Burundi but whose appeal for Indefinite Leave to Remain was turned down by the Home Office on 5th Dec, has now himself been detained whilst reporting at Loughborough reporting centre today. He has already been moved to Campsfield Detention Centre in Oxfordshire. Amdani’s case has previously been reported on the No Borders Nottingham website and elsewhere:
http://www.nottsrefugeeforum.org.uk/first.htm#amdani

The Friends of Amdani will be helping to keep him strong and hope to free him from the hands of the immigration authorities. More to follow.
Continue reading Amdani Juma detained while reporting at Loughborough – removal date set Wed 4th June. →