11 November 2011
Leading Palestinian activist Sheikh Raed Salah has been granted permission to appeal deportation from the UK on all six grounds submitted to the judge, his lawyers said today.
After losing an initial appeal in the First Tier (Immigration) Tribunal at the end of last month, Salah lodged another appeal in a higher court. In a press release, Salah’s lawyer Tayab Ali said:
Being granted permission to appeal on all grounds is highly significant. It is clear that the Home Secretary has repeatedly exercised poor judgment.
Writing in The National this week, I criticised the initial judgement in the lower immigration tribunal as flawed. We will now find out if more senior British immigration judges will do any more than “rubber stamp” Home Secretary Theresa May’s deportation attempt.
Salah is the leader of the Islamic Movement in Palestine ‘48. He entered the UK legally on 25 June for a speaking tour about the Arab revolutions, and what they mean to Palestinians.
May’s decision to exclude Salah, and later attempt to deport him has been criticised as “an instrument to suppress fundamental rights and free speech.” The Home Office’s ban — signed in secret by May on 23 June — centred on an accusation of anti-Semitism which was soon shown to be based on a fabricated quotation.
The full press release is viewable below.
