Justice for 10 Pakistani students: Stop their unjust deportations

On 8 April 2009, in a high profile operation, armed police raided a number of universities and educational institutions in North West England and arrested 12 students of Pakistani origin as terrorist suspects. One, a Liverpool University student, was thrown to the ground and held there at gunpoint for an hour, before being interrogated for several more hours. Several UK cabinet ministers made statements implicating the students in a terrorist conspiracy. “We are dealing” said Prime Minister Gordon Brown “with a major terrorist plot… We had to act pre-emptively to ensure the safety of the public”.

However, after further intensive interrogations and searches of their houses, mobile phones, hard discs and the localities where they lived, not a shred of evidence could be found against them and they were released after 20 days. Apart from one student who is a British national, they were then rearrested by the Border Police and served with deportation orders, on the pretext that they pose a risk to ‘national security’.

Nine students are appealing against the deportation orders and they remain incarcerated in high security prisons. One has since returned to Pakistan under duress. Only after six weeks of imprisonment were some of them allowed telephone contact with their families. Their bail hearing has now been adjourned until the end of July. A national campaign, Justice for the North West 10 (j4nw10), was set up in Manchester to support the students in their struggle against deportation and for justice. It is feared that they may be arrested by the Pakistani authorities if they are forced to return.