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A JOURNALIST who fears he will be murdered if he returns to his Iraqi home has been given fresh hope in his bid to stay in the UK.

Mohamad Star Saeed (26), of Gladstone Street, Bury, is facing deportation after the Home Office snubbed his bid for asylum.

But at a tribunal hearing in Manchester on Friday, the TV presenter's chances of winning his case appeared to have been boosted due to a change in conditions in Iraq.

After the day-long hearing, Judge Fountain reserved judgement on the case and said he would reveal in the next three or four weeks whether Mohamad could stay in the UK.

Mohamad worked for a TV channel operated by a liberal political party in the northern city of Kirkuk. Using newspaper articles and other literature as proof, he told the court that three of his colleagues had been murdered due to their jobs.

A Bury Times article on his case was also presented before the judge.

Last August, Mohamad's 12-year-old brother Bilal was kidnapped by the Jihad U Tawheed terrorist group, which murdered Liverpudlian Ken Bigley.

In a phone call and on a CD audio clip, the group ordered Mohamad to help them kidnap the daughter of the local mayor, Payam Rahman, who is a family friend.

Mohamad kept this information from his family and the mayor, until his sister Sara and Payam discovered the audio clip.

Scared the terrorists or the mayor would seek reprisals, Mohamad paid the Mafia £3,000 to escape to England in a series of lorries.

He has since spoken to his parents directly twice. There has still been no word of Bilal, who is feared dead.

The Home Office rejected Mohamad's asylum request, concluding that he would not face any specific threat due to his job if he were return to Iraq and, even if he did, he could easily move to safer parts of the country.

But the appeal hearing was told the situation had now changed dramatically.

Judge Fountain said Mohamad would not now have to prove that he would be under threat elsewhere in Iraq. This is because UK Government intelligence showed Jihad U Tawheed - otherwise known as Al Qaeda In Iraq - would be able to track down targets anywhere in the country.

So Mohamad only has to prove to the judge that he was singled out by terrorists when he lived in Iraq and that, because of his job, he would be singled out again.

However, the Home Office remained adamant that Mohamad's story doesn't add up.

Speaking at the hearing, Home Office presenting officer Mr Walker, who refused to give his first name due to fear of reprisals from failed asylum seekers, said Mohamad should be deported.

He said: "We still find the story surrounding the CD incredible. We see no reason why it should exist as there was no more information on it than in the phone call.

"We question why he did not tell his family or go to the police when he discovered that Bilal had been kidnapped.

"In our opinion, by leaving the country in these conditions, it would have put him at even greater risk."

Representing Mohamad. Mr Rory O'Ryan said: "It is accepted that he is a TV presenter and that several of his colleagues have been killed in recent years.

"The Reporters Without Borders report the court has seen says 56 journalists have been killed in Iraq in the last year."

He added: "It has also been accepted that Mohamad's family is friends with the family of the mayor, and a terrorist organisation would know he could assist with a kidnap attempt, especially given that the mayor and his daughter were protected by bodyguards."

8:00am Thursday 8th May 2008

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