"You're a criminal, you'll be safe in Somalia"

A 34-year-old man who has lived in London for three decades is to be
deported to Somalia after a judge said his criminal record qualified him
to survive in the war-torn country.

But the family of Abdi Mohamed say sending him back to the east African
state would be like signing his death warrant. Mr Mohamed fled
persecution in Somalia with his mother and father when he was four and
claims to know nothing about the country today.

Since arriving in Britain, he has tried to build a life in north London
but took up petty offending to support his drug and alcohol addictions.
Mr Mohamed came into contact with law enforcement when he was 12 and
later began committing burglaries to buy cannabis and cocaine. His most
recent conviction was for an assault on a prison officer, after which
the Home Office applied to have him deported to Somalia.

Dismissing his appeal, the immigration tribunal judge said: "His
experience [criminal activity] will make him more street wise than
someone of a similar age who has led a crime-free and more conventional
life. These experiences will place him at a distinct advantage in
dealing with the circumstances in Somalia and should make it much easier
for him to avoid pitfalls."

The judge, James Simpson, said Mr Mohamed's ability to speak English
would help him find work and said his family ties here were not strong.
But Mr Mohamed said he has always seen himself as British: "The first I
knew that I wasn't British was when the judge said I was to be deported
after serving my sentence. I couldn't apply for citizenship because I
was only a little boy when I came here. I am British not Somalian. I
know nothing about Somalia."

Mr Mohamed has been held in an immigration detention centre for 16
months awaiting deportation. Three attempts to fly him to Somalia have
been postponed and his family is worried about his physical and mental
health. Nothing has been done to regularise his immigration status in
Britain, so his criminal record made him liable to detention and
deportation under laws for foreign criminals.

Mr Mohamed's two sisters, both teachers in London, are shocked. "It
would be like a death warrant for him. Far from surviving, he is not
equipped to deal with Somalia and all its problems," said Shukri
Mohamed. "Abdi is extremely depressed. He is in limbo. He has been out
on bail on three occasions and redetained. This is mental torture. Abdi
has served his time but this is double punishment." Amnesty
International's Africa Deputy Programme Director Michelle Kagari said:
"There is no safety for civilians in Somalia]. Those fleeing violence in
Mogadishu are attacked outside and those who reach a camp face violence."

A UK Border Agency spokesperson said: "Where someone is not deemed
conducive to the public good we will not hesitate to deport them."