A case of human sacrifice in the UK asylum system

[midberry]

It would appear an Uzbek political activist is being returned by the
British Government to the infamously brutal Uzbek regime in order to
send a signal to potential asylum seekers not to come to britain, as
it is trying to tackle a backlog of percieved false asylum cases.
Besides the cruelty of using him in this way, the signal wouldnt be
heeded by ingenuine asylum seekers as they wouldnt be so fearful of
being returned to their origin.

Please familiarise yourself with the case of Jahongir Sidikov and do
whatever you can to raise his profile before he is forceably sent to
face torture and possible execution in Uzbekistan:

from http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/11/386289.html
also
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2007/11/a_low_point.html
http://www.bloggerheads.com/archives/2007/11/jahongir_sidikov.asp
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Jahongir Sidikov's story

Jahongir SIDIKOV was born on 10 June 1980 in the Zangiatin district of
Tashkent province in Uzbekistan. He has a higher education in finance.
He started his career in banking, getting his first job in the private
bank "Pahtabank". In September 1999 he arrived in London on a student
visa and entered the City University, where he completed his B.Sc. in
2003. After completing his degree he got married in 2003.

The massacre of more than a thousand innocent people in the Uzbek city
of Andijan on May 13, 2005 became a turning point for Jahongir. He
started to be actively engaged in opposition activities and propaganda
against the Uzbek regime. He became instrumental in organizing a
demonstration to commemorate the first anniversary of the massacre on
May 13, 2006 in front of Downing Street. He joined the ERK Democratic
Party, an opposition party in exile.

In the meantime, in 2006, his marriage fell apart. On top of this he
lost his Uzbek passport. He had to contact the Embassy of Uzbekistan.
He was strongly advised by the Uzbek Embassy staff to return to
Uzbekistan in order to obtain a new passport. However, returning to
Uzbekistan at that stage was not an option. Jahongir was already known
to the authorities in Uzbekistan for his opposition views. The protest
in London on May 13, 2006 was filmed by a representative of the Uzbek
Embassy in London and everyone who was there is now known to the
authorities back home.

Jahongir was also recorded on video. His relatives have reported that
law enforcement authorities summoned the neighbours of Jahongir
Sidikov for questioning in Uzbekistan. During the meeting, they were
asked to identify Sidikov in the video. Consequently, in the event of
his return to his country of origin, it is unlikely that the special
services will neglect his activities at the time of his residence in
Great Britain. Reports of human rights defenders regularly confirm the
continuing torture and ill-treatment of representatives of the
democratic opposition and those with religious convictions.

Jahongir's asylum claim has failed because the court didn't believe
that there is a genuine threat to his life in Uzbekistan. The court
also didn't believe that Jahongir will be subjected to torture and
human rights abuses in Uzbekistan . The court doubted that the letters
submitted by the leader of the ERK Democratic Party of Uzbekistan ,
Muhammad Salih and the President of the Association for Human Rights
in Central Asia, Nadezhda Ataeva are genuine. The court refused to
postpone the hearing so that former British Ambassador to Uzbekistan,
Craig Murray, who was on a visit to Africa, could give evidence.

The campaign

We are asking people to write to or e-mail their MP requesting them to
intervene urgently by asking the Home Office to stop the deportation
of Jahongir to Uzbekistan. Deportation to Uzbekistan would put
Jahongir in great danger of torture or death. Uzbekistan is an
oppressive regime where any display of dissent is harshly repressed.
There are more than 10 thousand political and religious prisoners in
Uzbekistan, one of the world's most violent regimes.

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Thankyou for your attention