Dear Friends & Supporters: It has been a whirlwind 6 months since I was detained by border police and sent to Morton Hall Immigration Removal Centre and told that my deportation to Iraq was ‘imminent’. Thanks to your endorsement of Solidarity with Ahmed Sedeeq #PhDforAhmed letter, which received over 400 signatures, and combined with the Change.org petition, receiving over 60,000 signatures, we continue to send a strong message to the Home Office that I must remain in the UK to live in dignity and safety with my friends and family. Despite all your tremendous support, I learned earlier this month that the Home Office rejected applications my legal team had put forth for asylum and for leave to remain in the UK. This puts me again at risk of being deported to Iraq, where I would face great threats to my safety. Leaving the UK would also mean being uprooted from my friends and family here, and being unable to complete my PhD studies at the University of Sheffield. The Home Office maintains that I do not qualify for asylum or humanitarian protection despite explaining the dangers I would face as an atheist if relocated to another city in Iraq. Furthermore, the Home Office claims that I do not qualify for leave to remain despite the fact that I have close relatives in the UK who demand that I be allowed to remain in the UK and not be separated from them. Adding insult to injury, the Home Office further claim that I don't qualify for a discretionary leave to remain despite the fact that I'm trying to complete my PhD studies. The cruel mistreatment that I have experienced by the Home Office is part and parcel of the hostile environment policy. This hateful policy is designed to create the very barriers and obstacles that I am now fighting in order to remain in the UK. Despite this setback, my legal team has appealed to the Home Office’s decision and we received an initial court hearing set for Monday the 20th of August. It has been thanks to your steadfast and kind support that I am still alive and fighting to live in dignity and safety with my friends and loved ones in the Sheffield community. Please continue to support my campaign, #LetAhmedStay by doing one or more of the following: 1. You can join us in support at the court hearing in #Bradford on Monday 20 August. Having supporters there will make a strong statement. You can join through the Facebook page: LetAhmedStay https://www.facebook.com/Let-Ahmed-Stay-223745251713415/ 2. You can write letters to Prime Minister Theresa May, Home Secretary Sajid Javid, Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, Secretary for Universities, Science, Research & Innovation Sam Gyimah, and Mr Paul Blomfield MP for Sheffield Centre: Letter Template https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SbNqhRnTxTXuEoC2-6PQuezQV7Jz6IP3pUh1iojag40/edit?usp=sharing 3. Or you can support the case by contributing to the legal fees, we have only been able so far to raise around 4K of the estimated legal costs of 15K. Anything you can contribute is gratefully received! (this is especially crucial given the need for an appeal): https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/letahmedstay/ With your continued support, I am confident we can win! Solidarity: Ahmed