Update: good news. An emergency injunction has been granted meaning that Kannan is safe for now. The story was reported on Channel 4 here. Thank you for all your support and pressure. It certainly will have helped.
We understand that a survivor of torture and a war crimes witness is due to be deported back to Sri Lanka early tomorrow morning.
Kannan has an independent expert medical report and another psychiatric report corroborating his account of being a survivor of torture. Further, following a string of high profile cases, ministers have repeatedly assured us that they would work hard to ensure that Tamil asylum seekers are not improperly deported. And yet Kannan is still scheduled for deportation tomorrow.
Please write to the ministers responsible, the Home Office, and the airline scheduled to remove him (Qatar Airlines) asking them to cancel the deportation. Please also tweet to @ukhomeoffice @qatarairways and @JBrokenshire. You might like to use the hashtag #SaveKannan
Here is a sample email:
Dear …
Please use your discretion not to remove Mr Kannan Kalimuththu REF: 10841148. He is currently slated to be removed on flight QR006, at 7:56 am on the 20th of March.
Kannan is a survivor of torture, a fact which has been corroborated by an independent expert medical report and another psychiatric report. Clearly to send him back to Sri Lanka would be not only entirely morally reprehensible but a betrayal of promises made by ministers in this regard.
Please do the right thing and make sure Kannan is not on that flight. If he is then you will be responsible for what happens next.
Kind regards,
You can send this to:
James Brokenshire MP, Minister for immigration: [email protected]
William Hague MP, who promised to investigate the deportation of Tamil asylum seekers: l[email protected], [email protected]
The Home Office: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], ukbapublice[email protected], [email protected]
Qatar Airways: [email protected], [email protected]