A DECISION to deport an African asylum seeker and her three-year-old son has been slammed by campaigners.

A DECISION to deport an African asylum seeker and her three-year-old son has been slammed by campaigners.

Felicite Gaye fled the Ivory Coast saying she had been raped by soldiers, that her husband had been kidnapped and her father's house had been burnt down.

She came to Glasgow in 2004, learned English and has since worked voluntarily at an asylum seeker support project in Sighthill.

But tomorrow Felicite, who is in her 20s, and son Arouna are expected to be deported back to the war-torn west African country.

The move comes despite lawyers arguing that Felicite should be allowed to stay under new Home Office rules.

The legacy programme aims to clear the huge backlog of asylum cases by allowing those who have a genuine claim and have integrated into society to stay.

However, Felicite's legacy case has been turned down and while frantic efforts are being made to arrange an 11th hour legal appeal, friends say a reprieve looks unlikely.

Christine Murray, who runs the asylum support project at St Rollox Church in Sighthill, said: "Felicite is one of my best volunteers.

"She's someone who is hard working, full of integrity and has become part of the community.

"I have no reason to disbelieve her story because of the honest person she is.

"I have seen other people recently who have been successful under the legacy programme and I cannot understand why Felicite's case is any different."

Felicite was detained last Friday when she went to attend a regular meeting at the Home Office's UK Border Agency centre in Govan.

She was taken to Dungavel detention centre in Lanarkshire then to Yarls Wood detention centre in Bedfordshire. She is expected to be flown to the Ivory Coast tomorrow.

The country was plunged into civil war in 2002 and human rights groups have reported both sides in the conflict have been guilty of rape.

Phil Jones, from the Govan-based Unity Centre, which is trying to arrange another legal appeal for Felicite, said: "For the Home Office to send her back to the Ivory Coast, where single women in particular face the very real danger of rape at the hands of soldiers, is a travesty."

A UK Border Agency spokeswoman said: "While we cannot comment on the personal details of individual cases, we will only remove those who are in the UK illegally and who have exhausted all avenues for resolving their immigration status in the UK."