Asylum fight goes to the Commons

TWO asylum seekers fighting to stay in Oldham are to take their campaign to the House of Commons next week.

A vigorous campaign was organised by Oldham Unitarian Chapel to stop Abdoulaye Diabate and Taha Ghasemi being deported.

Clutching a petition with 2,000 signatures of support, the pair will travel to London on Tuesday to hand it to both Michael Meacher, MP for Oldham West and Royton, and Debbie Abrahams, MP for Oldham East and Saddleworth.

They in turn will present it to the Home Office on the group’s behalf.

Abdoulaye was tortured and imprisoned but managed to escape and fled the Ivory Coast to the UK in 2006.

Taha, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Party, was severely beaten, tortured and imprisoned after supporting the Kurdish rights campaign in Iran. Both are seeking to stay on compassionate grounds.