Asylum seeker who reportedly wrote foreword of a book urging the killing of Jews is granted asylum in Britain
An asylum seeker who wrote the foreword of a book urging the killing of Jews has been granted permission to live in the UK.
Egyptian-born Yasser Al-Siri faces the death penalty in his home country and was allegedly part of a conspiracy to murder a general as ordered by Osama Bin Laden.
It has been reported that 2,000 copies of books espousing “the killing of Jews” were found at addresses linked to Mr Al-Siri, but a 2015 Immigration Tribunal did not consider that this evidence was sufficient to overcome the apparent absence of evidence of his involvement in the conspiracy to murder the general.
The Home Office rejected his asylum case on security grounds again in 2018, claiming that Mr Al-Siri had “advocated the use of violent jihad” on social media, and the Government sought to keep him out of the UK. But the Court of Appeal ruled last week that Mr Al-Siri should be allowed to stay, on the grounds that the evidence of his “sympathy for extremist views” was insufficient.
Lord Justice Phillips stated at the conclusion of the case on 8th February: “The starting point is that an unappealed Tribunal decision is final and binding and must be accepted and implemented by the Home Secretary, unless there is a good basis for impugning that decision.”
The Home Office is reportedly “disappointed” with the result and considering its next steps.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “It is a travesty that our country should give the privilege of residence to a man who has reportedly urged the killing of Jews. Our research shows that the threat from Islamists is regarded as serious by 95% of British Jews, and with good reason. It is disappointing that the courts have shown insufficient concern for the wellbeing of British citizens in arriving at this decision.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism’s Antisemitism Barometer 2020 showed that over eight in ten British Jews consider the threat from Islamists to be very serious.
