Afghan Christians to be deported despite death fears

Two asylum seekers who say they fear the Taliban will kill them as they are not Muslims are to be sent to Kabul

Website: The Guardian
Date: 11/11/2010
Link : https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/26/afghan-christians-deported-despite-death-fears

Two asylum seekers who say they fear the Taliban will kill them as they are not Muslims are to be sent to Kabul

Two Afghan asylum seekers, who say they fear they will be killed for being Christian if they are returned home, are to be deported to Kabulon Wednesday.

The man, 29, has been on a hunger strike at the Harmondsworth immigration removal centre near Heathrow for six days.

According to friends, the man - who has a cross tattooed on his right arm - is convinced that he will be killed if forced to return to Afghanistan. He told a friend: "If the Taliban don't execute me for being a Christian, my family will."

His friend said that the man was physically weak and worried that the recent burning of a Koran in the US would make Afghanistan even more hostile to Christian converts.

"He told me that if he goes back, people will kill him and it's much better if he dies here."

His fellow deportee, -, expressed similar fears. "They will kill me for being Christian," he said. "There are only Muslims there."

Although he was baptised only two weeks ago, his friends are convinced of his commitment to Christianity.

Marie Lutter, a member of the Jesus Army, said she had known him for five or six months and had "no doubt whatsoever" about his faith.

She said she also feared the worst if he was deported.

"I think he's probably at risk of being imprisoned or killed," she said. "The other Afghan boys have ostracised him since he became a Christian; they have refused to speak to him or eat with him. He is an orphan, and if he arrives in Kabul, he [will have] no one to defend him."

The two men, both of whom are from the Kabul area, are due to be deported early on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the UKBA said: "Each claim is determined on its own individual merits, taking into account all relevant information." He declined to comment on the deportation, saying it was policy not to do so until the flight in question had landed.