UK to deport 30 Kurdish refugees to Iraq on ‘high threat’ charter flight

The UK Home Office is planning to deport up to 30 Kurdish asylum applicants to Iraq on a single charter flight.

The expedition to Irbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, is fraught with danger. Contractors in charge of the voyage have been given specific training to deal with the “high potential of kidnapping from both Daesh and other terrorist groups.”

Some of the deportees had been in the UK for almost two decades, leaving behind families and jobs.

One man set to be deported on Tuesday’s flight told The Guardian newspaper: “The whole process is shambolic. We are human beings. I’ve been here 20 years.

“I’ve got A-levels. I speak six different languages. I’m not a criminal or drug dealer, I haven’t done anything. The more I think about it, the more I get upset.”

Read More: Biden and New Zealand leader air shared concern about China’s Pacific ambitions

On Monday, there were public protests against the deportations in both London and Kurdistan.

“We know of at least 11 people with British children and grandchildren who might be deported to Iraqi Kurdistan,” said Bella Sankey, director of the charity Detention Action. Many people fled to this region decades ago to escape the bloodshed and chaos.”

Another asylum seeker, speaking from a UK detention center before being deported, stated, “I vow that every single person sent to Kurdistan would be in danger.”

“Some have already received threats. We are worried that we will be grabbed as soon as we arrive at the airport in Irbil.

“In my country, some people wouldn’t think twice about shooting us in the head. There are some ruthless people there.”

Immigrant rights campaigner Karen Doyle said: “The Home Office is planning to send traumatized torture survivors to a dangerous and unstable region in a move which shows utter disregard for human life.

“The men we have been speaking to have made their lives in the UK and have wives and children here. Many have been unable to secure legal representation while detained. This government is ignoring individual traumas of those due to fly.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We make no apology for removing foreign criminals and those with no right to remain in the UK. This is what the public rightly expects and why we regularly operate flights to different countries.”

For the latest International News Follow BOL News on Google News. Read more on Latest International News on oldsite.bolnews.com