Cuban priest's fight to claim asylum in UK

A Cuban priest seeking asylum in the UK says he has been unable to find a solicitor to help his case despite efforts over the past 10 months.

Father Juan Carballosa and his family left Cuba in October 2022.

He said they had faced threats after he spoke in solidarity with anti-government protesters.

While the Home Office said all asylum seekers were entitled to legal representation, the Law Society said it was "very difficult" for them to secure a lawyer.

"If I go back to Cuba... I'll go to jail," Father Juan Carballosa said.

An orthodox priest, when thousands joined anti-government protests in country in 2021, he said he felt he could not stay silent.

The protests, the largest in decades, led to a security crackdown that saw hundreds of people jailed.

"From this moment I continue to speak for freedom, because I see the real face of the Cuban government," he said.

At the time, the ruling Communist party banned the protests, which it said were a US-backed attempt at overthrowing the government.

Father Juan said he was detained and questioned by police over the following year.

At times, he said his house and his family were surrounded by paramilitaries carrying knives and machetes.

The Carballosa family travelled to the UK in October 2022.

But since initial screening interviews at Birmingham Airport, Father Juan said they had heard nothing about their case.

With his documentary evidence in Spanish, he said his family needed specialist legal help and translation. But has struggled to find a solicitor.

"Most of the time the answer is the same," he said. "'We are very busy we cannot take any new cases at this moment.'"

"It's all too common I'm afraid," said Reverend David Haslam, from the Evesham Vale Welcomes Refugees support group.

"We've got people who've been here since February last year.

"Some of them have been sent questionnaires [from the Home Office] to answer, but they need legal help for that."

A spokesperson for the Home Office said all asylum seekers were entitled to legal representation - including with translation - through legal aid.

The department added it was investing heavily in a bid to speed up the processing of applications.

Richard Miller, head of Justice at the Law Society, said the number of solicitors providing immigration work had dropped significantly in recent years.

"The position has been made a lot worse because the rates the government pays for this work have not been increased since the 1990s," he said.