The petition
To: The Right Honourable Jacqui Smith MP. Home Secretary of the United Kingdom
We the undersigned residents of the United Kingdom hereby voice our support for apollin nana chaazou's application for leave to remain [HO REF: C1017105]. We believe that there are strong reasons why his application should be reconsidered on compelling compassionate grounds.
Mr. Nana chaazou is a torture survivor from Cameroon who arrived in the United Kingdom in 1999 and made an application for asylum. While in Cameroon he actively participated in the organisation of a students protest at the University of Douala as a leader to demand improved conditions of their studies in August 1999. He was arrested, detained and tortured and following his escape he had no choice but to flee his country because his life was in danger. His application was refused and Immigration Judges dismissed his appeals because they said there was no medical Report from an expert in Scarring with opinion on the causes of scars he bears on his body although they noted that some of the scars were significant. Mr Nana chaazou has now been examined by an expert in scars and his opinion is that Mr Nana has been indeed tortured. Below is the expert opinion upon examination of Mr Nana; the full report is attached to this petition.
OPINION:
O1) The lesions and residual tenderness of the feet are highly consistent with beatings to them as he described (H5).
O2) The scar on the right shin and hyper-pigmentation of both legs are consistent with beating to that area. (In contrast, the scars on the knees and forehead are of limited evidential value as everyday injuries to those areas of the body are so common from falls and similar accidents that the aetiology is difficult to attribute.
O3) The laceration scar on the abdomen E3a is highly consistent with a cut with a knife or other sharp object as described by him (H7).
O4) The tenderness over the loin and iliac crests and pain on bending (E3b) are consistent with beatings to these areas with a blunt object.
O5) The scar on the right wrist (E4a) is consistent with injuries from handcuffs (H3).
O6) Other scars and areas of hyper-pigmentation on the arms (E4b) are consistent with beatings to those areas.
O7) The loose flap of skin in the armpit and associated scars are precisely the appearance one would expect following traction with pliers. There are few other credible causes of such an appearance. This lesion is therefore typical of such an injury, which is not likely to be sustained by any mechanism other than torture.
O8) Cervical tenderness and limitation of movement (E5b) are not uncommon in the population as a whole, but less usual in a previously fit man of his age. This finding is therefore consistent with his being beaten.
O9) His main psychological symptoms (M4) are consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as defined by the criteria of the International Classification of Disease, 10th edition (ICD-10, please see note 3). In addition he has symptoms which are typical of panic attacks. Both PTSD and panic attacks are common among survivors of torture.
O10) My overall evaluation is that there is a reasonable likelihood that he was indeed subjected to torture.
As Mr Nana chaazou was given permission to take up employment by the Home Secretary 6 months after his arrival while his application is processed, he was encouraged by Psychiatrists to socialise and to find himself a job as part of his therapy and counselling in order to get over his traumatic experiences. He has now been in this country for 9 years and, as his employment record released by the Tax Office shows, he has been a consistent taxpayer since his employment commenced at the end of the first semester of year 2000.
Mr Nana chaazou is genuinely too frightened to return to Cameroon where he has been persecuted in the past and is unwilling to return there owing to such persecution and in light of evidence that there has been no major change of circumstances in Cameroon's Human Rights record;
We stress that Mr Nana's case is so exceptional on its particular facts that the imperative of proportionality demands that he be allowed to remain here.
Amongst the many reasons, we would mention the following:
1. Mr Nana chaazou is a victim of torture and has established a reasonable likelihood that he has been tortured; Mr Nana chaazou is a person in need of protection. If returned to Cameroon Mr Nana could be subjected to further persecution by the Cameroon regime.
2. Mr. Nana has been a consistent taxpayer and always lived in rented accommodation in the UK for 9 years and clearly made positive contribution to the country. Mr. Nana is not a burden on the state.
3. Mr Nana has made considerable effort to integrate and be helpful to the society. He has mastered English to the highest level at school and has successfully completed a Bachelor of Science degree program of studies with distinction.
4. Mr. Nana has a young child aged 2, who was born and has only ever lived in the United Kingdom and clearly regards this country as her home.
5. We believe that to remove this man [who is clearly a model citizen and an asset] from the UK and return him to the Republic of Cameroon where he is likely to be subjected to further persecution would be an unjust act. Mr. Nana has integrated well into our society, is highly valued, and is already making a positive contribution in many ways.
6. We believe that there are compelling reasons for him to be granted leave on the basis of his compassionate circumstances, his strength of connections in the United Kingdom and the length of his residence in the United Kingdom. Accordingly we ask you to exercise your discretion to grant this Model Citizen leave to remain exceptionally outside the Immigration Rules.
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