Source: croydonguardian.co.uk
Pakistani man Ali Munir could be deported to country where he was ‘kidnapped, tortured and threatened with beheading’
Ali Munir volunteers with the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association
An asylum-seeker who claims he was kidnapped, tortured and threatened with beheading in Pakistan because of his religious beliefs has narrowly avoided deportation this week.
Ali Munir, 38, fled to the United Kingdom with his parents in August 2014, after he says he was attacked for preaching the Ahmadi faith in the private school he ran with his father in Lahore.
The Ahmadiyya Muslims are regarded as heretical by many orthodox followers of Islam as they believe in a latter day Prophet called Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. In Pakistan they face widespread persecution and are not permitted to call themselves Muslims.
Although Mr Munir’s parents were granted asylum in September 2015, Mr Munir’s request has remained pending until his lawyer says he was suddenly detained on Friday, July 29, and taken the Verne Immigration Removal Centre in Dorset. He had been living in Borough Hill, Croydon, and preaching and volunteering at the Baitul Futuh Mosque in Morden.
The Baitul Futuh Mosque
A spokeswoman for the Home Office said they do not comment on individual cases.
His lawyer, Director of Joules Law, Quaseem Ahmed, says Mr Munir was told he would be flown back to Pakistan on Tuesday, August 9. However, on Monday, August 8, Mr Munir was told his flight had been deferred for the time being and that he could leave the centre until a decision was made.
Spokesman for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, Jamal Akhbar, met Mr Munir two years ago through their voluntary work at the Baitul Futuh Mosque. He said that, in Lahore, his friend had been bundled into the back of a van before he was gagged with his hands tied behind his back.
Mr Akbar said: “He was threatened that his head would be severed and given to his parents unless he renounced his faith and accepted mainstream Islam.
“The blade held to Munir’s neck to enforce this renunciation was used to make cuts across his chest and arms, yet he remained resolute. Those scars are still visible today. He managed to escape from the building he was being held in and eventually made it to safety.”
He added: “His family are here now. He has no home to go to, no family to go to. If the people who kidnapped him before know he’s back then it will be a real risk to his life. It’s not worth thinking about.”
Mr Ahmed said they had not been told why his flight was deferred and his client remained in a “shaky situation”, as it could be re-booked at any moment.
Mr Ahmed said: “One of the reasons his parents claimed asylum was on the basis that their son had been kidnapped and tortured.
“In September 2014 a doctor said he didn’t believe he had been tortured, and all of his scars could have just been an assault. In November another doctor said it was very possible he had been a victim of torture, but by this point the Home Office had already made their decision.”