A Family on the Brink: Urgent Appeal to Stop Rebwar’s Deportation

16 December 2025 IFIR Press Release

The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) urgently calls on the UK Government to halt the deportation of Rebwar, a father of seven whose removal would cause profound and lasting harm to his family. His case highlights the devastating human consequences of the UK’s increasing use of forced returns to Iraq.

Rebwar is the central source of emotional and practical support for his children. His presence provides stability, care, and daily guidance that cannot be replaced. IFIR has received deeply troubling reports that his youngest child is already experiencing severe distress, crying for his father at night and struggling to sleep. This is not simply a family hardship it is a serious safeguarding concern affecting vulnerable children.

Rebwar plays an essential role in the everyday life of his family: supporting his children’s education, nurturing their wellbeing, and creating the sense of safety every child deserves. When he is detained or threatened with removal, the children’s mental health deteriorates, their school attendance drops, and their emotional stability collapses. Deporting him would tear this family apart and inflict long‑term trauma on seven innocent children.

IFIR strongly condemns the UK / Iraq agreement enabling the forced return of rejected asylum seekers. As IFIR Secretary Dashty Jamal has stated, this cooperation violates fundamental human‑rights principles and places vulnerable individuals at risk of persecution, insecurity, and militia‑related violence. Many Iraqi and Kurdish refugees fled precisely these dangers; returning them to the same authorities is unsafe and morally indefensible.

The UK Government’s 2025 asylum reforms including temporary protection status, prolonged settlement delays, and restricted appeal rights — have intensified fear and uncertainty among refugee communities. As of September 2025, nearly 2,000 people were detained under immigration powers, including many who face serious risks if returned.

Rebwar’s case is not an isolated incident. It reflects a broader pattern of detentions, pressure, and intimidation used to coerce individuals into “voluntary” or forced removal. IFIR stands firmly against these practices and urges the UK Government to immediately reconsider this deportation and all similar cases.

IFIR calls on the Home Office to recognise the real human cost of its decisions. Deporting Rebwar would not only endanger him but would inflict deep and lasting harm on seven children who depend on him for love, stability, and protection.

Call to Action

IFIR urgently calls on refugee‑rights campaigners, human‑rights organisations,

community groups, trade unions, legal advocates, and all those committed to justice to stand with us in demanding the release of Rebwar and the 25 other Kurdish refugees currently detained under UK immigration powers.

These individuals fled persecution, insecurity, and militia violence. Detaining them and preparing them for forced return to Iraq places them at grave risk and violates the principles of protection and dignity that underpin international refugee law.

We ask refugee rights campaigners to:

• Raise public awareness of these detentions

• Contact MPs and local representatives to demand intervention

• Support the families affected

• Join IFIR in calling for an immediate halt to all forced deportations to Iraq

• Stand in solidarity with the 25 Kurdish refugees whose lives and futures are now in danger

The strength of this campaign depends on collective action. We urge refugee rights campaigners, human rights organisations and Trade Unionists to join us in resisting these deportations and ensuring that no family is torn apart by unjust and unsafe policies.

End.

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Dashty Jamal
Secretary
International Federation of Iraqi Refugees-IFIR
Tel:07856032991 Fax:08712664391