The High Court has cleared the way for the deportation of Nigerian woman Pamela Izevbekhai and her two young daughters.
Mr Justice John Hedigan ruled that there was no fair question to be tried in the case.
He said there was no objective evidence of irreparable loss and concluded that the balance of convenience favoured the enforcement of the valid deportation orders against them.
Pamela’s lawyers had claimed that, if forced to return, seven-year-old Naomi and five-year-old Jemima were at risk of being subjected to the practice of female genital mutilation.
The court has heard that her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, died in 1994 as a result of blood loss some time after the practice was carried out on her.
However, the court agreed with the Refugee Commissioner, the Refugee Appeals Tribunal and the High Court that her fears about FGM are not well-founded.
The judge refused to grant the application for an injunction freezing their deportation pending the outcome of her judicial review challenge.
Source: Belfast Telegraph 18 November 2008
