Theresa May MP: Release Evenia Mawongera from Detention

Evenia is at risk of arrest, persecution and extremely serious ill-treatment over calling on the authorities in Zimbabwe to respect human rights and the rule of law.

(YORK, UK) - Her daughters and grandchildren are British citizens, but Evenia Mawongera, originally from Zimbabwe, has been in the asylum system for the past 5 years.

As part of asylum conditions, Evenia regularly reported to the UKBA reporting station in Loughborough.

But on Friday 5 July 2013, while reporting to UKBA, she was detained and held at Loughborough Police Station. From there, Evenia was transferred to Yarl's Wood Immigration Detention Centre in Bedford pending removal to Zimbabwe.

She will also attract adverse attention from the authorities in Zimbabwe because of her participation in performances by the Zimbabwe Association Choir.

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Theresa May MP: Release Evenia Mawongera from Detention

Theresa May MP, Home Secretary
Mark Harper MP, Minister for Immigration
Re: Release Evenia Mawongera from Detention

Dear Theresa May MP,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com.

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the appealing situaiton of Evenia Mawongera .

Evenia Mawongera should be released from detention immediately pending the outcome of the application for judicial review that her solicitor is submitting before the courts in relation to Evenia's asylum claim.

Evenia is 55 years old. She lives in Leicester and is from Zimbabwe.

She plays a very active role in our community and has been living in Leicester with her daughters and grandchildren, all of whom are British citizens, for close to 10 years.

Evenia is a member of the Zimbabwe Association Choir and is one of the people who performed for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II when Her Majesty The Queen visited Leicester to mark the start of her Diamond Jubilee. In addition to that, Evenia is a member of the United Methodist Church where she plays an active role in her local parish. Evenia is also actively involved in the tailoring and crafts projects that are organised and run by Leicester City of Sanctuary.

Although her daughters and grandchildren are British citizens, Evenia is an asylum seeker and has been in the asylum system for the past 5 years. As part of asylum conditions, Evenia regularly reported to the UKBA reporting station in Loughborough. However, on Friday 5 July 2013, while reporting to UKBA, she was detained and held at Loughborough Police Station. From there, she was transferred to Yarl's Wood Immigration Detention Centre in Bedford pending removal to Zimbabwe.

If the Home Office sends her back to Zimbabwe, Evenia is at risk of arrest, persecution and extremely serious ill-treatment because of the work she has been doing with groups like the Zimbabwe Vigil and ROHR that are calling on the authorities in Zimbabwe to respect human rights and the rule of law. She will also attract adverse attention from the authorities in Zimbabwe because of her participation in performances by the Zimbabwe Association Choir.

I say this because in June 2012, the police in Zimbabwe used the draconian Public Order Security Act to ban a picnic that had been organised in Harare to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee ("Police invoke Posa to stop Diamond Jubilee celebrations", The Standard, 11 June 2011 accessible at http://www.thestandard.co.zw/2012/06/11/police-invoke-posa-to-stop-diamond-jubilee-celebrations/). Furthermore, under Zimbabwean law, it is a criminal offense to make any statement criticising, ridiculing or expressing contempt towards the President. Evenia appears in a number of videos in which she and other members of the Zimbabwe Association Choir sing songs in which they do just that. An example of one of these songs is "Zvinondirwadza" accessible at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__nrk3v---4&feature=share&list=PL20515DFFA307CB13.

Evenia’s solicitor is in the process of submitting an application asking the courts to review the Home Office's decision to remove Evenia from the United Kingdom.

I urge upon you to consider to release Evenia from detention immediately. I urge you that she should be allowed to stay with her daughters and grandchildren until the courts have made a decision on her application for judicial review.

Yours Sincerely,
William Nicholas Gomes
Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com
www.williamnicholasgomes.com

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Salem-News.com Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.