Mohammad Hussain was detained at Lindholme immigration removal centre a month ago before being transferred this week to a similar centre near Kidlington in Oxfordshire.

The asylum seeker is due to be deported to Irbil in Iraqi Kurdistan aboard a flight from Heathrow tomorrow (WED) evening but supporters are lobbying the government in the hope they can win an eleventh-hour repreive.

Mr Hussain fled his country in 1999 claiming he was threatened by the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) since he was held responsible for a hospital medical error resulting in the death of one of its members while Mr Mohammad was a departmental head.

Since this time persecution of political opponents of the KDP, which controls much of Iraqui Kurdistan, has increased, according to reports from bodies including Amnesty International and the International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR)

Supporters point out that following the forced deportation of 60 Iraqi Kurds from the UK to Irbil in February, the IFIR reported that guards from the Kurdish Regional Government "knew nothing of human rights".

Stuart Crosthwaite, who is leading the campaign,said Mr Hussain was one of the county's best known and loved members of the Kurdish community and had played an important role in community life in Doncaster. He is treasurer of the Doncaster Focus Group - a co-ordinating group of refugee and migrant volunteers - and an active volunteer with the Northern Refugee Centre.

He said: "Mohammad's deportation would not just be a grave threat to his life. It would be a loss to Doncaster and South Yorkshire. He is a big man with a big heart.

"Mohammad's claim for asylum was originally turned down because they said he could have moved from Irbil to a different part of Iraqi Kurdistan or sought asylum in a different country. Yet they are not proposing to deport him to a safer area or different country, they are sending him back to Irbil saying is now more stable. The reality is that the KDP is now in government, making it even more dangerous for dissidents like Mohammad."

Mr Hussain has lived in the town centre most of the timE since his arrival in the UK in 2001, and helps to run an internet cafe. He has received contradictory information from the Home Office about his status and supporters hope that there is a chance that if confusion is cleared up he may be allowed to stay to pursue his claim.

Letters, emails and faxes are being fired off to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Doncaster Central MP Rosie Winterton.