Isa Muazu, the 45 year old Nigerian national who has been fighting to regularise his stay in the UK, has failed to win temporary freedom pending his appeal court challenge to being held in an immigration detention centre. Isa Muazu came to the attention of the media in September this year after his asylum case was rejected and began his hunger strike going without food for 90 days. Isa Muazu believes his asylum claim was not considered fairly by the Home Office.
Isa Muazu: Refusal of Leave to Remain & Asylum Applications
Isa Muazu arrived in the UK from Nigeria in July 2007 but then overstayed once this expired as he was afraid to return to his home country. He was detained by the authorities on 25 July 2013 when his application for leave to remain in the UK was refused. At this stage he claimed asylum saying that members of the hardline Islamist group Boko Haram had threatened to kill him unless he joined them. He claimed that two members of his family had already been killed. His asylum application was subsequently refused.
Yesterday, three judges in the High Court unanimously ordered an urgent hearing of Isa’s case which will take place on Monday. They have however, refused to direct his release from Harmondsworth immigration removal centre near Heathrow until the hearing despite his legal representatives stating he is close to death and would consent to medical treatment in hospital if released on bail.
2013 Statistics from Detention Action: 99% of ‘Fast Track’ Applications Refused
Isa Muazu’s asylum application was refused a few days after he submitted his claim. According to research conducted by Detention Action, 99% of people on “fast track” asylum applications are failed. Often there is no time for applicants to get evidence from their home country because they are only given a few days to appeal the first decision.
Ellie Mae O’Hagen, writer for The Guardian, believes that immigration has always been a “thorny issue politically” and that “successive government’s have ratcheted up the tensions in order to win easy points at the electorate.” She is of the view that:
“…we seem to be in a position where any public figure who says something in defence of immigrants is accused of failing to understand the concerns of ordinary people, concerns that were preyed upon and magnified by politicians in the first place.”
Legal Advice for Illegal Migrants in the UK
Illegal migrants with strong Human Rights arguments ought to take legal advice and regularise their stay in the UK as soon as possible and before it is too late. Please contact us to discuss your immigration situation and we will assess your case and provide you with options of regularising your stay.