Cardiff student Bashir Naderi's execution 'nightmare'

A Cardiff student fighting deportation to Afghanistan said witnessing his father's execution by the Taliban was a "nightmare that is with me always".

Bashir Naderi, 19, had his deportation stopped by a judge just hours before he was due to board the plane last month.

He has lived in Wales for nine years after his mother paid traffickers to bring him to the UK.

Mr Naderi said: "I just want to live a normal life, like a normal person".

His father was a policeman when Taliban fighters had control of the country, murdering him close to the family home.

Mr Naderi had been sent out to bring lunch to his father when he witnessed him being shot dead.

"I was nine years old. No one can forget something like that," he said.

"It happened right in front of me. If someone is being murdered right in front of you, you don't forget it."

After the death, his mother sold the family plot of land so her son could be smuggled out of the country and brought to the UK.

He told BBC Radio Wales' Jason Mohammad show he did not know if his mother was alive or dead.

Mr Naderi said he had no other family back in Afghanistan and feared for his own safety if he was forced to return.

"I would have nowhere to go, I don't speak the language - I belong here," he said.

"I just want to stay in this country. This is my home town where I belong with my family.

He was arrested in October after reporting for a monthly sign-in at the Home Office and taken to a detention centre in Oxfordshire to await deportation.

He was given an initial 14-day reprieve just hours before he was due to be forced on to a plane, after a judge ordered his release.

More than 14,000 people have signed a petition organised by his girlfriend demanding he is allowed to remain in Wales, backed by celebrities including the singers Cerys Matthews and Charlotte Church.

His case has also won cross-party support from AMs and backing by MPs.

"If they knew Bash like the rest of us, there could be no way they could send him back," said his partner, Nicole Cooper.

"He wouldn't fit in - he would stand out, especially with the Cardiff accent he has. It's traumatising - it's not fair."

Mr Naderi, who has been studying decorating at Cardiff and Vale College, said he had been overwhelmed by the support he has had.

He still has to report to the Home office every week while his case is being reviewed.

"Every time I go in I am scared, I am frightened I am not going to come out again," added Mr Naderi.

The Home Office said it did not comment on individual cases.