Blunkett deportation order unlawful, judge rules

The home secretary, David Blunkett, acted unlawfully in deporting an Afghan refugee family to Germany after they sought sanctuary in a British mosque, a high court judge ruled today.

Farid Ahmadi, 33, his wife Fariba, 25, and their two young children, aged five and three, were last month flown back to Germany, where they had first claimed asylum. They travelled on a specially chartered military jet at a cost to the taxpayer of an estimated £30,000.

But today Mr Justice Scott Baker, sitting in London, ruled: "As a result of an unlawful act, this family were removed from this country when they should not have been."

The judge ruled that they should have been allowed to remain while they challenged their removal on human rights grounds that the mother and children's mental health would suffer if they were sent back to Germany.

The home secretary had been wrong to rule, in the light of medical evidence of their mental suffering, that they had "no arguable case" and that their challenge was "manifestly unfounded".

The judge adjourned the case until tomorrow morning to decide what the next step should be in the light of his ruling, and whether or not the home secretary should now be ordered to return the Ahmadis to the UK.

The family, which came to Britain in June 2001 after complaining of their treatment in Germany, had sought sanctuary in a mosque at Lye, near Stourbridge, West Midlands, supported by a network of family and friends.

The parents were later forcibly removed in a raid by police and immigration officers after the home secretary ruled it was the German authorities who had responsibility for determining their asylum claim.

During a one-day hearing yesterday, David Pannick QC, appearing for the family, accused Mr Blunkett and the Home Office immigration authorities of "breaking the rules" in the rush to get the family back to Germany.

He told Mr Justice Baker that the family's human rights had been abused because they had been entitled to have their legal challenge to deportation considered by an independent adjudicator before removal. Medical reports had suggested that deporting Fariba and her daughter Hadia, five, and son Seera, three, would cause them "considerable mental harm".

Mr Pannick also said the home secretary had fought off an 11th-hour court bid to block their removal by relying on "plainly erroneous" statements that the family had already been granted residence in Germany, where they would be allowed to "live in the community".

The undisputed facts were that they had no settled rights of residence and had only been granted "tolerated status" by the Germans, which provided temporary protection from being returned to Afghanistan but required them to live in a residential centre.

A Home Office spokeswoman said the government would seek leave to appeal, adding: "We are disappointed with the judgment.

"It is the home secretary's view that this will create such a precedent that every illegal immigrant and failed asylum seeker will cite psychological damages to frustrate the proper operation of asylum laws." She pointed out that the judge had not yet ordered that the family be returned to the UK and that the issue will be considered further tomorrow.

The chief executive of the immigration advisory service, Keith Best, said the decision could have a huge impact on Mr Blunkett's plans to reform the asylum system.

The home secretary's nationality, immigration and asylum bill proposes sending some unsuccessful asylum applicants to another country and forcing them to conduct their appeals from there.

"This should be a warning to the government over their changes to the appeals process," Mr Best said. "What would happen if, under the new bill, someone was returned to a country where they were prevented from mounting their appeal or stopped from getting proper legal advice?"

The Ahmadis fled Afghanistan in 2000, claiming they had been tortured and persecuted by the Taliban. They spent seven months in Germany but claim to have suffered racism and bigotry there.

They travelled on to Britain from Germany to seek asylum, but the Home Office refused them permission to stay, saying they should seek refuge in the last safe country they had entered.

Paul Rowlands, who is in Germany to support the Ahmadis, said the family were desperate to return to Lye, where they had been living before their deportation.

"Farid and Fariba are very happy from what they have heard so far from the court, but don't want to say too much at this stage," said Mr Rowlands, who with his partner, Soraya Walton, befriended the family when they came to the West Midlands.

"The family are desperate to get back home and to get the children back to school," Mr Rowlands said.