British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has ordered a review of the case of a Burmese asylum seeker who faces deportation from Britain.
Mr. Brown intervened in the case of Lay Naing after being confronted in Parliament by Damian Green, the opposition Conservative Party spokesman for immigration.
Lay Naing fled Burma last year. He says he was jailed and beaten by Burmese authorities for distributing literature critical of Burma's military government.
His application for asylum and three appeals were rejected on the basis that he did not apply when he arrived in the United Kingdom.
The British government has come under fire from rights organizations for criticizing repressive governments such as Burma's but sending back asylum seekers.
Britain's Border and Immigration Agency said the government will continue to treat applications from Burmese nationals on a case-by-case basis.Ko Aung is a spokesperson for the Burmese Democratic Movement Association U.K., which opposes the Burmese government. He called for the British government to synchronize its policy regarding Burma.
"The U.K. government should change their policy on Burma because the problem is Home Office say different and then also Foreign Office also say different. So I do not know what is going on, but Burmese people, if they send you back to Burma definitely out there they are facing torture, imprisonment and [they] maybe killed."
A statement by the Border and Immigration Agency said the government would continue to treat applications from Burmese nationals on a case-by-case basis. It said if an applicant demonstrates a need for international protection, asylum shall be granted, should an application be refused, the applicant has the right of appeal.
