THERE are fears that a former Ugandan journalist will be targeted by a brutal regime if he is deported.

John Okello, 58, who has been seeking asylum in the UK for ten years, is currently being held at a detention centre after his application was refused.

Mr Okello is a volunteer with the Refugee Advice Centre in Leyton High Road and a member of the Waltham Forest Asylum and Immigration Rights Group.

He suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and his supporters, Spare Room, a Leytonstone-based organisation providing support to forced migrants, fear the stress and the possibility of being returned to a country where he was imprisoned and beaten is taking its toll.

On February 3, Mr Okello went to an immigration reporting centre to sign on.

Without prior warning he was detained and told he would be deported. On arriving at the detention centre he fell ill and his medication was increased.

An initial date for his removal was postponed without explanation. A new asylum application has been submitted but his future remains uncertain.

Mr Okello is an Anchioli from the north of Uganda where a bitter war has been fought between government forces led by President Museveni and the Lords Resistance Army (LRA).

A former high-profile TV journalist and critic of the president, he is not a supporter of the LRA which, according to human rights organisations, has committed mass murder and torture and recruited child soldiers.

The British Government says the President's security forces are also responsible for unlawful killings and the torture of citizens.

In 1997 Mr Okello was beaten while being detained by the military for three days. On release he was told never to return to his homeland.

A truce and subsequent amnesty for LRA members who renounce violence is thought to have calmed the situation. However serious problems remain, including continuing evidence of the murder and torture of government opponents.

Chris Gwyntopher, of Spare Room, said: "John is obviously very worried.

"There is a judicial review being prepared with substantial additional evidence. John and his lawyer are quite positive that will be successful but it obviously depends on the court."