Charles is 24. He has complex health needs including a severe learning disability and epilepsy.  His Mum (Ruth) and Dad (Wilson) have requested political asylum in the UK because Wilson has been accused of blasphemy in his home country of Pakistan. 

Wilson is on the committee of our football club. Ruth is our chef. Charles is a fan.

They are a proud Christian family that had a comfortable life in Pakistan. But blasphemy is a serious issue that invites the wrath of the state and vigilante groups. If convicted Wilson faces the death penalty. If vigilante groups get to him first, he could be burned alive. This is why Wilson, Ruth and Charles have chosen to endure the UK government’s ‘hostile environment’ as the better option. They have spent the last 6 years living in poverty and from food charity.   

It is not as if Wilson (who was in the UK at the time the blasphemous incident is alleged to have taken place in Pakistan) can clear his name. The UK government accepts that the Pakistan legal system discriminates against Christians and that fair trials are a fantasy.  Moreover, many lawyers won’t take up blasphemy cases because they fear for their own lives if they do so. In short, Wilson has no chance of justice and our government knows this. Yet they are deporting the whole family.  

It is not just Wilson that is likely to suffer. Sara Jones, Chief Executive of the Charity, Mencap, says that it is unsafe for Charles to return to Pakistan because “There are well documented cases of men with a learning disability, especially those with epilepsy, being stoned to death or thrown in wells. It is considered in many communities to be a sign that you’re possessed by the devil”.  The Home Office knows this because Sara has provided this information in support of the family’s case to remain in the UK. 

They have ignored her. 

With a father accused of blasphemy, it will not take religious extremists long to come to the conclusion that Charles too is possessed by the devil and should also be killed. And, as our government well knows, they often don’t stop there. Sometimes whole families are considered to be possessed. Ruth could be killed too. Or, alternatively, she will be left alone in the world with nothing but trauma to keep her company.