Asylum seeker violence

An asylum seeker who was convicted of a violent crime wants to stay in Britain after he is released from prison:

POLICE have vowed to help a mother in her fight to get an asylum seeker who beat her son unconscious deported.

Kurdish Iraqi, Ismet Rashid Mustafa, was jailed for four years in August 2003 following a vicious attack on the 18–year–old student.

Police were appalled by the severity of the assault and at the time wanted Mustafa to be charged with attempted murder.

Detective Dave McCulloch, who led the investigation, also demanded the courts deport him as soon as his sentence had been served.

The victim’s mother, who does not want to be named, is now horrified that Mustafa is challenging his deportation and will be eligible to apply for parole as early as March 2005.

She said: “The attack has completely devastated our lives. It has always been in the back of my mind that he would appeal for parole but I did not think he would challenge the deportation.

“My son wants to get on with his life but how can he if there is a chance this man could be walking the streets of Manchester?

“He has committed a violent crime and needs to be deported.

“We will never get over it but each step, like the court case and sentencing, helped. The deportation was the final piece in the jigsaw that would give us closure. I have nothing against asylum seekers. I’m not racist. I would want this country to offer help to anyone who needs it, but this man has committed a violent crime and he is now trying to cheat the system by staying.”

The student was attacked on School Lane, Didsbury, in March 2003 after a night out in Fallowfield.

He was jumped on by two men who punched, stamped and kicked him in the head until he was unconscious.

Mustafa was caught by police but his accomplice escaped and has never been found.