Signatories include musician and writer Akala, soccer expert Gary Lineker OBE, Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh and artist Tracey Emin, along with a number of prominent musicians, activists, writers, journalists and lawyers. The letter, seen by The Independent, was sent to three airlines known to have previously worked with the Home Office on deportation flights: Titan Airways, Privilege Style and Iberojet. AirTanker, which previously carried out Home Office removal flights, has now ruled out participating in next week’s flights following a public campaign by the Freedom from Torture charity. Zoe Gardner, policy and advocacy officer for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI), said: “Most of us want to see people who run the risk of being treated with care and compassion, no matter what they look like or where they were born. However, Priti Patel seems determined to treat some refugees sadistically, displaying her cruelty towards them as a way to make headlines and divert attention from her collapsing party. “No airline should offer to help and support these racist and irrational plans, which we know will shatter the brothers and endanger lives. That is why so many of us are gathering and calling on the airlines to deny complicity in this government’s gross attack on human rights. “We believe that people who have sought refuge here should have their voices heard, their rights respected and given the opportunity to rebuild their lives alongside their families and communities here.” The Public Service and Commercial Services (PCS) and the charities Care4Calais and Detention Action have filed Supreme Court appeals, challenging what they described as Home Secretary Priti Patel’s “illegal policy” to expel asylum seekers. emerged on Wednesday. The first flight from the UK containing migrants is expected to depart next Tuesday, but lawyers for more than 90 migrants have already filed lawsuits asking to be allowed to stay in the UK. Home Office officials are expected to expect the remaining 38 or so who have been notified of the June 14 flight to follow suit this week, but the signatories are urging the government to cancel the flight. Meanwhile, members of the public have sent more than 15,000 letters of protest to airlines suspected of participating in the Rwandan program, according to the JCWI, and a social media response has seen several airlines delete posts from Instagram and LinkedIn due to negative comments. The high-profile letter follows the news that more than 100 asylum seekers in the United Kingdom, including those who have fled Syria, Sudan, Eritrea, Iran and Iraq, have been expelled from Rwanda. , with some detainees scheduled, was removed on Tuesday 14 June. The letter urges airline executives to refuse to fly on June 14, Rwanda’s first departure flight this year, and to refuse any future flights. “We believe that everyone has the right to live a safe and dignified life. Regardless of what we look like, where we come from or what borders we cross,” the letter said. The signatories also express concern that people are deprived of the opportunity to reunite with their family members here and fly thousands of miles away from their support networks against their will. A person who was to be on the flight to Rwanda, but whose ticket was now canceled after their lawyer intervened, told the Independent: “We were living in very difficult conditions – we were being tortured by smugglers. And now the government is doing the same – torturing us. “I just want a normal, calm life. I do not know why they put me here [in an immigration removal centre] and why they threatened to send me to a country from which people leave themselves. “The Kurds have always fought for their freedom and I do not think they could live anywhere without freedom … I categorically reject the Rwandan government that made this agreement. It is against basic human rights. they kill humanity and do it for money, and I oppose that. “ The news of the UK-Rwanda agreement and the upcoming departure flights came after Priti Patel’s nationality and border law was passed earlier this year. The act facilitates the government arresting, criminalizing and deporting people who have sought security in the UK. The Ministry of Interior has been approached for comment.
