RAPAR - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Beja Congress and Friend of Mortada
Abu Amna, a member of the Beja Congress and friend of Mortada said, "I think it is very inhumane to treat a patient like that. So long as he is in hospital, he is a patient, he should be treated like other patients. He is in the care of the medical staff and I wonder why they tolerate such practices. Since the UKBA policy says: "Restraints must not be used to attach detainees to furniture or any other fixtures and fittings, something must have gone terribly wrong. He is a patient and must not be treated like this in the hospital."
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, and resident of Manchester for many years, Frankie understands the challenge of multiple agency working, being deeply experienced in developing initiatives across the sectors and currently specialising in economic regeneration activities. Frankie is leading on the future development of RAPAR's media and communications strategy.
Job Titles:
- Press Officer
- Member of the National Union of Journalists
- Press Officer, 07758386208
Kath is RAPAR's Press Officer and has worked throughout the UK as a staff journalist and, more recently, as a freelance writer, sub editor and reporter.
A long standing member of the National Union of Journalists, Kath is Secretary of the NUJ's Manchester and Salford Branch and is a branch delegate to Manchester Trades' Union Council. She started volunteering with RAPAR when she was working on NUJ campaigns for journalists seeking asylum in the UK.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of Unite 's Manchester Community Branch
Manjeet Kaur is an Afghan national and current Chair of RAPAR, the human rights organisation based in Manchester.
Since she sought asylum in the UK three years ago, Manjeet has been at the forefront of many campaigns against the government's unfair asylum policies and practices. During the Conservative Party conference in October 2013, Manjeet was interviewed on ITN's News At Ten about the impact the Home Secretary's newly announced immigration legislation would have on people seeking asylum.
Manjeet is a member of Unite's Manchester Community Branch and her campaign is also backed by the Manchester and Salford branch of the National Union of Journalists which has worked with the International Federation of Journalists in order to establish what happened to Amitt.
Manjeet, 35, who is Chair of RAPAR, recently lodged a claim with the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the High Court has failed to engage with the facts of her asylum case.
We are asking supporters to send a letter to Manjeet's MP, Kate Green, urging her to continue her support of Manjeet's campaign.
Manjeet, an Afghan national who lived in India, came to RAPAR as a service user in 2011. She is seeking asylum in the UK following a series of threats and attacks which were made on her life after her husband (a journalist and activist) disappeared. These issues are made all the more complicated by her medical condition and her need for a wheelchair. Manjeet is at the forefront of her own campaign, which has had a number of successes to date, and provides continual support, aiding research projects and other campaigns within RAPAR.
Mary, born in Nigeria into a Muslim family, is a Christian convert. She was trafficked into the UK in 2004 and exploited for three years, but despite this, her asylum claim was refused. She has since developed her own campaign within RAPAR to support her appeal. Mary has taken on a number of other roles within the organisation, helping to support other campaigns and undertaking administration work.
Mohammed Al Halengy
Leadership
Mohammed came to the UK in 2006 from Eastern Sudan in order to flee persecution for being a member of the marginalised Beja tribe.
Mohammed has campaigned for the equal representation and power sharing of the Beja people and an end to their marginalisation within Sudan. For RAPAR, Mohammed regularly represents the organisation externally and, through his extensive political and social networks and his multiple social skills, he enables intensely vulnerable people to access what they need.
RAPAR spokesperson Nahella Ashraf said "We call upon anyone who can to take a few minutes out of their preparations for the Christmas holiday to stand with us in defence of Mortada beside the Mount Street tram stop in City Centre Manchester at 2pm tomorrow, Friday. The cuffs must come off immediately."
Job Titles:
- Regional Organiser for the Community Branch of Unite
We ask that you voice your support for Manjeet's asylum claim by writing to Home Secretary, Theresa May, and to the new Minister of Immigration, James Brokenshire.