This kind of action has worked in the past - there've been numerous cases in the past 6 months where people have been taken off planes at the last minute because of popular pressure on airlines who are often privately unwilling to do the Home Office's dirty work for them.

Continued updates and information on Babi's case can be found here:
 http://noborderswales.wordpress.com/

The following is a model letter that can be used to e-mail them, or as a makeshift script when talking to airline representatives:

Azerbaijan Airways
Rooms 842-843,
Norfolk House,
South Terminal,
London Gatwick Airport,
West Sussex
RH6 ONN

Tel.: (44-8707) 605 757
Tel.: (44-1293) 568 000
Fax.:(44-1293) 568 222
E-mail:  london@azal.co.uk


Dear Sir/Madam

Re: Forced Removal of Babakan Badalov (Babi)

I understand that Babi is due to be removed from the UK against his will on Azerbaijan Airways flight J20008 at 8pm on Saturday 20th September from Heathrow. I am writing to ask you to please intervene to stop this from happening.

Babi has been detained by the UK Border Agency whilst preparing a fresh claim for asylum based on new, and as yet unseen, evidence. He is in an extremely precarious state of mental health, and has expressed suicidal tendencies since being taken into detention on Tuesday this week. Put simply, Babi is not medically fit to travel.

Babi is an openly gay artist who has faced persecution in Azerbaijan because of his sexuality and because of the radical and critical nature of his art. A recent ILGA report into the human rights of Gay people in Azerbaijan states that the price of open homosexuality is often “estrangement from family, bullying, social exclusion, discrimination, blackmailing and hate crimes”. Similarly an Amnesty International report into freedom of expression in the country cited numerous instances of “harassment including physical abuse at the hands of law enforcement officials” and a number of “violent attacks which have led to serious injury and even death”. He has already experienced beatings and hate crimes: on his return he faces more of the same and perhaps worse.

I am aware that airlines are able to exercise discretion about carrying unwilling deportees, and are not obliged to do so. If not for ethical or moral reasons then surely you can see that it is bad for business for you to be seen carrying unwilling prisoners who are unfit for air travel. I therefore implore you to reconsider Azerbaijan Airways’ position on this.

Yours faithfully

Name:

Address:

City: Postcode: Country:

Date: Email: Phone: