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Mother makes new appeal to High Court over deportation

A woman who believes her two young daughters are at risk of female genital mutilation if the family is deported to Nigeria has appealed to the High Court to prevent their deportation until their latest legal challenge has been determined.

Mr Justice John Hedigan will rule next Tuesday on the application by Pamela Izevbekhai for an injunction restraining the deportation of herself and her daughters, Naomi (7) and Jemima (6), pending a decision on her challenge to the Minister for Justice's refusal to consider her claim for "subsidiary protection" here.

Ms Izevbekhai lost a baby daughter after the child was forcibly genitally mutilated in Nigeria.

The Minister for Justice is resisting the injunction application on grounds including that Ms Izevbekhai's latest court proceedings raise no arguable grounds and because the High Court has already upheld the validity of the deportation orders.

Yesterday, Mel Christle SC, for the family, said their case on subsidiary protection was based on arguable grounds and their circumstances warranted the injunction.

He said Ms Izevbekhai's in-laws were a very powerful family within Nigeria and considered genital mutilation a "rite of passage".

Mary Carolan, Irish Times

More story at-http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1114/1226408634339.html

© 2008 The Irish Times

 
 

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