Armenian family is sent 'home'

13/4/2007
Manchester Evening news
By Yakub Qureshi

AN Armenian TV reporter who fled to Britain after raising the alarm over alleged election fraud is being deported.

Gina Khatchatryan, who has been living with her family in Bury for three years, says her life will be in danger if sent back after blowing the whistle on ballot-rigging.

She, her husband and five-year-old daughter were due to be thrown out today after their asylum appeal was rejected.

But she says she will have to go into hiding on her return having previously received death threats.

The 30-year-old journalist worked for the country's public TV station Armenia 1, but had also supported the campaign of a political candidate in local elections four years ago. While an observer at a polling station, she and others spotted ballot boxes being interfered with and alerted police.

Soon afterwards, she started receiving threats to drop the complaint and decided to go into hiding.

But when thugs visited her and threatened daughter Elena, she was forced to flee the country.

The family had been living in Bury while their application was processed. Elena has been a pupil at Heap Bridge primary school and English is her first language. Immigration officials accepted the facts of the journalist's claim, but believe she had overstated the danger and rejected her argument.

The family were moved from their home in the early hours of Easter Monday and taken to Yarls Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire. They were due to be deported today from Heathrow Airport.

Home Office officials said an initial assessment by immigration services and subsequent appeal hearings had deemed that the family did not face sufficient risk.

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