Let the Zaouche Family Stay in the UK

We call upon you, as Minister of State responsible for those seeking asylum in the UK, to reconsider your decision to have Salem Zaouche and his family forcibly removed back to Algeria and ask you, instead, to grant them indefinite leave to remain here in the UK.

We believe that, if returned to Algeria, their lives would be in grave danger.

We are greatly concerned for Salems health and general well-being, both while in detention and due to the ongoing strain of the uncertainty of their situation and the unremitting fear of being forcibly returned to Algeria.

We are also deeply concerned for Salem's family - his wife, Ouardia, and their five children, the youngest being only seven months old - who are also in the UK and live in constant fear of being detained and returned to the country where they experienced such persecution and threat to their lives.

We believe that Salem is a man of great integrity, who has told the truth about the life-threatening danger of his return to his home country, and is concerned above all things for what will happen to his family if he or they or all of them are returned to Algeria.

We believe Salem is in grave and imminent danger because we know that friends and acquaintances of his, who had previously been unsuccessful in their asylum claims and told by the Home Office it was safe to return, have been questioned and tortured by government bodies in Algeria on their return.

We note the recent report from derechos.org: The human rights situation in Algeria is terrible. Thousands of men, women and children have been killed, many massacred in their own homes, both by security forces and the government-backed militias or by extremist Islamic groups. Thousands more were arrested and imprisoned, many without charges or trials, and hundreds have been sentenced to prison after unfair trials. Torture by the security forces is widespread, both at secret detention centers and in prison. The security forces continue to "disappear" people, and the fate of thousands of the disappeared remains unknown.

We understand that in the time they have been awaiting a result for their asylum claim they have settled extremely well in Halifax, living honest and decent lives here, becoming much loved, valued and active members of the local community.

We understand also that they have become very involved and active in a local church, where they have made many strong friendships and been able to express their faith freely (as they are unable to do in Algeria).

In the light of all the above, and in the name of Justice and Compassion, we ask you to grant this family leave to stay here in the UK and become positive and productive citizens.