Anti-Slavery International welcomes Immigration Minister Beverly Hughes's announcement that the UK Government will reconsider Mende Nazer's
asylum application.

Anti-Slavery International believes that should Mende Nazer be sent back to Sudan, she would be at risk of reprisals from the Government. Her request for asylum should be granted to provide her protection from persecution.

Despite the Sudan Government's denial of slavery in the country, its existence is an established fact, confirmed by Anti-Slavery International's research and most recently by the International Eminent Persons Group, as well as the United Nations and other bodies.

In Sudan, those who raise the issue of slavery face harassment and imprisonment. As recently as January 2002, a Sudanese journalist was arrested for publishing an article on slavery, despite the information already being in the public domain and well known to the authorities.