Weeks in a lorry then rejected for asylum
AREF Baghhlani came to Britain seeking asylum four years ago.
The former law student, 29, was forced to flee his home country of Iran after speaking out against the government.
Aref said: “I travelled to Istanbul in April 2016 and arranged with a smuggler to take me to the UK in the back of a lorry for nearly $6,000 (£4,500), which were all my life savings. I... could not communicate with the smuggler because of the language. I could not say back any word, they were gangs and could kill us.
“I did not wish to be back in my country because I know I will be locked in a cell and tortured, yet, the journey felt like torture as well.
SHAKING
“On the journey we were crammed in a small space and were unable to move. The truck was constantly shaking. I became ill from the cold.”
They travelled for 39 days across the Balkans and southern Europe, sleeping in the woods.
Aref was detained in Dover and applied for asylum straight away.
He was housed in a hostel in Croydon, South London for a fortnight, then with his aunt in Hastings, East Sussex.
After almost six months he received a letter rejecting his asylum, saying there was no substantial evidence to prove he was a genuine asylum-seeker.
An appeal failed even though Aref explained that his circumstances made it hard to gather the necessary evidence.
Aref says: “I was rejected in February 2017, and ever since I fear deportation to a place where my life will be taken.”