MEDIA STATEMENT: Urs Signer to stay in Aotearoa

DATE: 19th December 2013 - for immediate release

Photo attached depicts the moment home detention came to an end two weeks ago.

Urs Signer is no longer to be deported. After over six years living in limbo, Urs, one of the so-called 'Urewera 4', received confirmation this week that his deportation notice will be suspended.

"As a whanau we were totally stoked when we received the news from our legal team that the Minister of Immigration decided to suspend deportation in my case pending five years of no further convictions" said Urs.

The Ministry wrote to lawyer David Ryken on Tuesday advising him that a deportation order will be served on Urs Signer. However, that order is superseded by a suspension notice.

"For us, it means we can finally move on. It will have been more than eleven years from arrest to the time that this whole saga is truly over for us. Eleven years!"

"This is good news with a catch but after living on a leash like this for so many years and still maintaining our community and political work, we're not so worried now. When you're free you don't really know what you have and how important it is until you lose it. It makes you strive harder for your dreams, for what you believe in. So while Operation 8 may have aimed to terrorise political activists, this whole saga has just made us stronger and more determined" said partner Emily Bailey.

"No reira, kei te mihi tenei whanau ki a ratou kua wehe atu ki te po - Tuhoe, Moko, Te Miringa, Rameka, Rata ma - haere haere haere atu ra! Ko te po te kaihari i te ra, ko te mate te kaihari i te oranga. Tenei te mihi aroha ki a koutou e hoa ma! Thank you for all the love and support over the years. We couldn't have survived this without the support from our community, whanau, friends and comrades."

ENDS

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