31,000 sign petition to keep Mohammed in UK

MORE than 31,000 people have signed in support of a Syrian man fighting to stay in Cardiff with his family.

Mohammed Mirzo, now 20, first arrived in Britain in the back of a lorry, after fleeing Aleppo.

Mohammed was separated from the rest of his family aged 16 and ended up in Bulgaria.

After about five months in Bulgaria, Mohammed travelled to Germany, where his family say he was attacked by a neo-Nazi gang and suffered a broken shoulder which has still not fully healed.

When Mohammed made it to Cardiff he applied for refugee status, but during one Home Office meeting he was detained and held at Parc Prison for two days before being sent to the immigration centre.

He was eventually reunited with his family in Cardiff in April.

Then, earlier this month, Mohammed, was detained at Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre in Oxfordshire and told he would be removed back to Bulgaria, as this is the first place he was registered in the EU.

After public concern was raised, he was released and returned to Cardiff to his family.

His family say he was badly mistreated in Bulgaria, a country that has been strongly criticised for its treatment of refugees and migrants.

Mohammed’s father Ali arrived in Cardiff in 2015 and was granted refugee status in 2016.

He gradually brought the rest of his family, including his two daughters, to Cardiff and now has a young baby, Evan, aged eight months.

Settling in Lakeside, Ali, 48, set up the Royal Coast Cafe in the city centre and volunteers as an interpreter for child refugees.

Mohammed was taken to Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre in Oxfordshire and was finally reunited with his family on October 17 but could still be deported.

Yesterday, Cardiff Central MP Jo Stevens handed in a 31,000-strong petition to the Home Office.

Mohammed and his family were there, along with Jonathan Cox from Citizens UK and lead organiser for Citizens Wales, who has been coordinating the community campaign to keep Mohammed in the UK.

Ms Stevens said: “I am proud of our supportive community in Cardiff and across the UK who have signed the petition to keep Mohammed in Cardiff with his family.

“Mohammed has been through significant trauma and it would be not just unnecessary but barbaric to remove him from his family now that they have been reunited.

“Current Home Office regulations need to be reviewed urgently. Why should a child who’s arrived in one EU country be prevented from being with his family in the UK simply because they have now reached the age of 18?

“This Tory government policy lacks compassion and common sense.

“I will continue to campaign on this issue until the Government changes its approach.”

His case has been raised with Home Secretary Amber Rudd.

The Home Secretary said at the committee she was unable to comment on the specific case but thanked the MPs for raising it.