URGENT – BREAKING NEWS: MELTEM AVCIL – REMOVAL BY PRIVATE JET IMMINENT

UPDATE: 21ST November 2007 – 5pm
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GERMAN AUTHORITIES HAVE CONFIRMED THEY EXPECT MELTEM AVCIL AND HER MOTHER IN DUSSELDORF TOMORROW THURSDAY 22 NOVEMBER AT 10:00 HRS. THE UK AUTHORITIES HAVE NOT GIVEN TIME OR PLACE OF THE FLIGHT DEPARTURE.
THE FAMILY IS AT BEDFORD HOSPITAL, UNDER CLOSE GUARD.
THE NATIONAL UNION OF TEACHERS HAS NOW GIVEN THEIR FULL BACKING TO MELTEM AVCIL’S BID TO REMAIN IN THE UK.

Inside Meltems Card

We have just been informed that government authorization has been granted to Home Office officials to charter a private jet to remove 14 year old Hall Cross Lower pupil, Meltem Avcil, and her mother, either today or first thing tomorrow. We have been informed that removal is IMMINENT and “use of force” has been authorized.

Meltem Avcil, whose 14th birthday is today, had been assessed by doctors from Medical Justice yesterday. There was concern about Meltem’s psychological state, as a result of being incarcerated for three months at Yarlswood Detention Centre, after being dawn raided by an immigration snatch squad at their flat in Doncaster, their home for the past six years. Doctors requested she be transferred to Bedford hospital for assessment.

Until literally minutes ago, Meltem’s supporters believed she had been transferred to Bedford hospital along with her mother. Unfortunately, our sources have informed us that it was “extremely worrying” that Meltem was being taken from Yarls Wood WITH her mother.

What is most worrying of all is that the Children’s Commissioner has taken up Meltem’s case and Dianne Abbott MP raised her case in the House of Commons yesterday. Meltem’s case was also highlighted in today’s Independent newspaper.

Meltem’s mobile phone has been cut off. During her time at Yarls Wood she says she was denied access to newspaper coverage of her case. The Home Office has cut off all communication with Meltem’s lawyers, despite counsel standing by to carry out a judicial review of her case.

We are concerned that Meltem’s school, Hall Cross Lower, responded to Meltem’s predicament by saying they “wish her the best of luck for the future” . We are also concerned that the National Union of Teachers, where protests were held today in Doncaster, have issued no statement on the treatment of Meltem Avcil.

PLEASE ACT NOW – email and copy.

Write directly to Prime Minister Gordon Brown to protest at the removal of Meltem Avcil. Email browng@parliament.uk. Write also to the Home Secretary homesecretary.submissions@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk .

Please copy your mail to: robina@paih.org and adrian.matthews@11million.org.uk (email for Sir Al Aynsley-Green, children’s commissioner)

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FOR REFERENCE – SEE BELOW ARTICLES OF INTEREST:

Meltem Avcil’s Testimony, the Article in today’s independent about Meltems case. Please act now.
Thursday 15 November 2007
Meltem Avcil’s Testimony

At 3.25 am, some officers came into the small room I share with my mother. Ten minutes later, they took us down to the reception.

At 3.45 am, five escorts, one woman and four men arrived; the woman searched our bodies in front of the waiting men. Then, one of the men escorts, came up to me, he was talking loudly, looking with a mean face, and said:

“If you refuse to go on the plane we will handcuff both of you and tie your legs. Okay?”

They took us to a black van, two escorts next to me, one next to my mum, the other two in the front. They chatted by themselves during the journey. I could hear my mum crying very quietly. I wasn’t crying. The lady escort asked me what year at school I am in, it was a strange question because I was locked up, not in school. I said

‘Year 9’. Then, she said,

“You must be looking forward to your GCSEs”.

I didn’t answer, but my tears came I couldn’t help it so I looked out the window. Then she said,

“well, obviously not.”.

They started chatting amongst themselves. Then that male escort said to me:

“You know if you refuse to go on the plane, I will handcuff your mum and tie her feet.”

I did not answer, I didn’t like him saying things about my mum. They went quiet, and he told the escorts to talk to me. I said to the lady,

“is that man your manager?

She said:

“yes”.

After a while the escorts fell asleep, I looked out of the window, but it was dark. I was thinking what were my friends doing, would I see my school again. I was saying to myself why do I have to be here when my friends are outside, why do I have to go into a country I don’t know. I felt angry with everyone.

Then they woke up and started chatting again, it became daylight, they stopped somewhere. The manager went for a cigarette, we waited in the van, he got back in, and they kept driving.

We arrived at Heathrow, the manager took my mother through security, but not normal security like other passengers, he came back with my mum to the van, he had another cigarette. Another man took me through security. When he brought me back, the manager was waiting, then he said to me very loudly,

“You know if u refuse to go on the plane, we’ll put handcuffs on you and tie your feet, tell your mum what I said.”

I told my mum. They drove us right next to the plane, we stopped, and the manager said to me that,

“Germany faxed a letter through saying that they are going to look at your asylum again, then you might be successful, and get your status and Leave to Remain in Germany, and come back to this country.”

And then, obviously, I didn’t believe that, and I told this to my mum, and she didn’t believe it either.

Next to the plane, the manager and another male escort, they took my mum out, and my mum started crying more and tried not to go up the steps. The manager went on top of my mother, held her legs down, and went to handcuff her, but the handcuffs hit my mothers face badly, and she was bruised and cut. He handcuffed her, and dragged her off the [tarmac] and up the plane steps to the very back of the plane. I started crying, I was scared. Two escorts held me by the hands but I kept saying ‘let me go’ but one of the escorts pinched my hands to make me go. And then they put me in the plane, I was crying.

Passengers were looking at us. The manager sat with my mother on one side, she kept crying, he kept telling her “shut up, shut up”. Two or three passengers looked a bit worried, but the ones in front of us just kept reading their newspapers as if we were invisible, but my mother was crying. They sat me between two escorts who kept squeezing my hand very hard like to break my fingers. I kept crying and saying,

“I want to speak to the pilot”.

They closed the plane doors. I could not stop crying, and then the two escorts kept squeezing my hand hard.

Then the pilot came. He told my mum “SHUT UP”.

He never asked what the matter was. Do you know, the manager he kept squeezing my mums hand with the handcuffs on, i could see he was hurting her, I felt sick. I said to the manager

“stop hurting my mum”,

and the woman escort told me, it wasn’t hurting, but she kept squeezing my hand as well.

A teenage passenger started taking mobile phone pictures. The plane moved a bit, then the pilot said:

“We are sorry for the disturbance, the deportees should be off loaded”.

Then the pilot came to the back of the plane, he looking straight at me, and said to the air-hostess,

“bring the steps”.

We went down, and went in the van. They put us in the van quickly, they kept staring at us angrily, one of the men kept saying to me,

“you’re going back to Yarlswood, are you happy now?”

We drove for hours, they stopped a couple of times for cigarette breaks and burgers for themselves. One of them asked us if we wanted one, but we said no. We got back to yarls wood at 3.30pm. ENDS