LONDON: After years of legal efforts by the Home Office to deport an Iraqi man who saved his infant niece by illegally bringing her to the UK, he has been given leave to stay,
When his niece, Raven Tahseen Ibrahim, was just 7 months old and suffered severe burns in a French refugee camp, Najat Ibrahim Ismail, who immigrated to the UK in 2004, saved her life. His parents fled Iraq and moved to France in 2016 following the expansion of Daesh.
When Ismail, 35, learned of his relative's injuries, he left for Dunkirk and against the law took his niece back to Britain so she could receive immediate medical attention.
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He was charged with assisting illegal entry into the UK in 2017. The UK Home Office attempted to have him deported three times, but to no avail.
After years of legal pleading by his lawyer, the 35-year-old, who is married to a British woman and has three children, has now been given leave to remain.
After the 2016 incident, his niece, whose family was also given leave to live, has made a full recovery and is now enrolled in school.
For the first time Ismail said, "I can sleep well. I can't stop smiling because I am the happiest person in the world. I am very grateful to my lawyer. He kept me alive."
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Ismail's assistance in the illegal entry was condemned by the judge, who said: "I accept that you were not someone who was smuggling for profit. These were family members who you chose to help. We are very Happy that Najat will be allowed." to remain in the UK after so many years of uncertainty,” said Hannah Baynes, Ismail's lawyer.
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The judge acknowledged that if Najat was forced to live apart from her family in Iraq, where she has a legitimate fear of persecution, her mental health could deteriorate.