HO ref;  B1236372

Bernard has removal directions for 20.00 hours on Saturday, 10th September, on Kenya Airways flight KQ 101 from London Heathrow to Nairobi and at 7.45 the following day on KQ 526 from Nairobi to Yaounde in Cameroon. 

At 7.30am on Monday 5th September, at least five UK Border Agency officers went to the home of Cameroon playwright Lydia Besong and her husband Bernard Batey in Bury, Greater Manchester. They took Bernard from the address – Lydia was not at the house at the time – and he is now in Colnbrook IRC with removal instructions for Saturday, 10th September. The indications are that the UKBA want to deport Lydia as well.

It seems that the UKBA decided to reject their fresh evidence on August 17th but had not written to Lydia and Bernard or their solicitor to inform them of this decision. The first they knew about the decision was when their legal representative contacted the UKBA AFTER Bernard had been detained.

We need your urgent support. Please email or fax Home Secretary Theresa May – a model letter with contact details is available at the link below, and on the campaign webpage here - and please also email the Immigration Minister Damian Green asking them to make an urgent intervention in this case.

We are also asking people to fax or phone Colnbrook IRC demanding Bernard’s immediate release. Colnbrook phone number is 02086075200 and the fax number is 02087597996

Please remember to quote Bernard and Lydia’s Home Office number in all correspondence B1236372 and copy it toadmin@rapar.org.uk

Bernard has removal directions for 20.00 hours on Saturday, 10th September, on Kenya Airways flight KQ 101 from London Heathrow to Nairobi and at 7.45 the following day on KQ 526 from Nairobi to Yaounde in Cameroon. 

Please telephone/ fax Kenya Airways, urging the airline to refuse to take Bernard on the flight. Details below.

More details to be found at the RAPAR website 

Take action – now!

1. Urgently contact the Home Office:

Use the sample letter, or your own words, but remember to always include the Home Office reference number: B1236372 and also let the campaign know of your action by emailing admin@rapar.org.uk

Click here for a sample model letter

Rt. Hon Theresa May, MP
Secretary of State for the Home Office,
2 Marsham St London SW1 4DF

Fax: 020 7035 4745
(00 44 20 7035 4745 if you are faxing from outside UK)

Email:
mayt@parliament.uk
UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk
CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Also please copy emails to the Immigration Minister, Damian Green at:

ministerforimmigration@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk 

Please remember to copy all correspondence to admin@rapar.org.uk

2. Please telephone/ fax Kenya Airways, 

For the attention of Sam Okwulehie, the area manager for Europe, urging the airline to refuse to take Bernard on the flight. Phone number for Kenya Airways is 020 8759 7366 and the fax number is 020 8745 5027.

The flight details are flight KQ101, at 20.00 hours on Saturday, 10th September,  from London Heathrow to Nairobi and at 7.45 the following day on KQ 526 from Nairobi to Yaounde in Cameroon. 

Kenya Airways motto is “Pride of Africa”. They should be ashamed for working with the UK Home Office to hand over peacefull human rights activists to certain imprisonment and torture by the Cameroon regime.