We are members of the #LetAhmedStay campaign who are raising funds for Ahmed Sedeeq’s legal case to remain in the UK.

Ahmed’s Backstory

Ahmed is a PhD student in Computer Science at the University of Sheffield. Having earned an MSc from Sheffield in 2012, he returned on a student visa to commence his PhD research in 2013. 

Ahmed's home town of Mosul, Iraq was seized by ISIS in 2014. Fearing for his life, Ahmed applied for asylum in the UK, but the Home Office rejected his asylum application and informed him that his student visa was curtailed and invalid. The Home Office then held Ahmed's passport and other documents until his student visa expired, which meant he lost the opportunity to apply for a visa extension. Ahmed lost his father in 2017 due to the ISIS occupation of Mosul. .

On December 18, 2017, the Home Office detained Ahmed and sent him to Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre, where he was told that his removal to Iraq was 'imminent'. Despite his release from detention, Ahmed must still report frequently to the Home Office and is subject to removal to Iraq at any time.

Why is this case important

What Ahmed is experiencing is part and parcel of the hostile environment policy instituted as law with the Immigration Act of 2014 and 2016. With this policy, migrants like Ahmed are subjected to enormous barriers and surveillance by the Home Office, making it easier for them to be detained and deported on secret charter flights. 

Tremendous solidarity from over 60,000 supporters, including over 300 academics and fellow PhD students, enabled Ahmed’s release from Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre on 28 December 2017, having spent 10 days in detention during Christmas. Despite being released from detention, Ahmed must report frequently to the Home Office and is still subject to removal to Iraq at any time. 

The #LetAhmedStay campaign was formed by supporters and concerned individuals to provide solidarity and support to Ahmed. If Ahmed is deported back to Iraq, we fear that he will be going to his death. We demand to #LetAhmedStay so that he can finish his PhD at the University of Sheffield and live in safety and security with his  community of friends and supporters in the Sheffield area.