A Polish man has been detained and threatened with deportation after he reported a knifepoint attack by his landlord and three other men to police.
Miroslaw Zieba, 48, has been held at a detention centre near Heathrow for two months after reporting the crime that happened at the flat he was renting in Southend with his wife, Mariola, 37, and two other men.
His wife said she was injured in the attack and needed hospital treatment.
Essex Police were unable to find the suspects and said their ‘lines of inquiry had been exhausted.’
Mr Zieba’s lawyer Fahad Ansari said: ‘It beggars belief that we are now living in a society where foreign nationals should be apprehensive about reporting crimes to the police out of fear of being detained and deported themselves.
‘It is likely to be perceived by criminals as a green light for them to target foreign nationals who may be too afraid to report the crime to the authorities.’
Miroslaw Zieba, 48, has been held at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow for two months and has been threatened with deportation after he reported a crime
Mr Ansari told MailOnline: ‘The couple were working in the country legally and living in a rented flat with two other men when their landlord and three other men, all wearing balaclavas entered the property and evicted the couple after threatening them with a kitchen knife and a baseball bat.
‘My client then called the police who questioned him about his immigration status and handed him over to immigration officials who detained him because of a criminal record he had in Poland.’
The crimes in Poland dated back to 1990 and included robbery and neglecting his military duties, the Guardian reported.
He was jailed for those offences and, under its own rules, the Home Office cannot deport people because of previous convictions they’ve already served time for.
Mr Ansari added: ‘He was also cautioned for carrying a pen knife in public in June 2016 but surely that can’t be the basis for what’s happened.’
He said under immigration rules, the Home Office had to prove his client’s conduct represented ‘a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society.’
However the Home Office said it would always seek to deport foreign national offenders who have a ‘history of serious or persistent convictions overseas.’
He said Mr Zieba was appealing against the decision when the case is heard on January 2, 2018.
He is currently being held at Colnbrook Immigration Removal Centre near Heathrow.
Mrs Zieba was injured during the incident on July 31 and needed hospital treatment, she said.
Mr Zieba’s lawyer Fahad Ansari said: ‘It beggars belief that we are now living in a society where foreign nationals should be apprehensive about reporting crimes to the police out of fear of being detained and deported themselves’
She told the Guardian: ‘My husband and I were the victims of a horrific and terrifying crime. We were terrorised and threatened. I was physically assaulted and left with bruises all over my face and body. If we cannot call the police to protect us, then who else will?’
Mr Ansari said officials at the Polish embassy were concerned about the way the Home Office had treated Mr Zieba.
A Polish embassy spokesman said: ‘The case is known to the embassy and its consular section, which is in contact with the people involved and is assisting as much as it can.’
A spokesman for Essex Police told MailOnline: ‘We were contacted shortly after 5.40am on July 31 with reports of a disturbance at an address in York Road, Southend.
‘Officers attended and a man and a woman reported they had been assaulted. The woman suffered minor injuries, the man did not suffer any visible injuries.
‘We kept the victim updated throughout the investigation.
‘Our lines of enquiry to locate the suspect have been exhausted based on the information given. However if any new information comes to light we will look into this further.
‘Routine enquiries showed the 48-year-old man was wanted in connection with immigration offences.
‘He was detained and transferred to Border Force.’
A spokesman for the Home Office told MailOnline: ‘Mr. Zieba came to our attention because of a criminal offence he committed in June 2016 in the UK where he was cautioned by police for being in possession of a blade in a public place.
‘Subsequent checks showed Mr Zieba had committed a string of serious offences in Poland included burglary, attempted blackmail and threatening to harm a witness or juror, which he served prison sentences for. As a result we began deportation action.
‘We’ll always seek to deport foreign national offenders with a history of serious or persistent convictions overseas.’