An Albanian asylum seeker and suspected trafficking victim has described his 'very bad mental state' as he faces deportation to Rwanda, a country he knows 'nothing' about. The 26-year-old is among seven individuals launching last-minute legal challenges to avoid being forcibly removed from the UK on Tuesday evening.
The group includes three Iranians, one Iraqi, and one Vietnamese asylum seeker, all of whom arrived in the UK on small boats in mid-May. The Albanian man told the Guardian he was exploited by traffickers for six months in Albania before being taken to France and then put on a boat to the UK. 'I can't return to Albania because the traffickers there will kill me. The only safe place for me is the UK,' he said.
One Iranian deportee said he feared being sent back to Iran due to good diplomatic relations between Iran and Rwanda. He fled after his cousin was executed and his uncle tortured by the Iranian regime. Another Iranian man, separated from his son in the UK, said he had 'found no justice in this country'. A 25-year-old Iraqi Kurdish man, a potential trafficking victim, said detainees are 'mentally exhausted' and having nightmares. 'My message to anyone who will listen is: Please stop the plane,' he pleaded.
The Home Office has faced criticism for proceeding with the flight despite concerns that suspected trafficking victims have not had their cases fully investigated. The deportees are being held at Colnbrook immigration detention centre near Heathrow Airport.
