The Herald

This pet rat has ‘more rights’ than its owners

MEET Maxi, the rat with more rights than an asylum seeker.
The claim was made yesterday by Rosie Kane, the socialist MSP, who has taken in the rat as a lodger.
The male rodent was left behind in the flat of a family of Azerbaijani asylum seekers who were seized by immigration officials in a dawn raid in Glasgow last Saturday.
Maxi was subsequently rescued from the flat in Sighthill by inspectors from the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and has since been "liberated" from Cardonald cat and dog home by Ms Kane for a £13 fee.
At a press conference, the rat's treatment was contrasted with that meted out to its owners.
Julia Gulshan Babayeva and her sons Alex, 19, and Aziz, 18, were taken to a detention centre at Gatwick airport, outside London, after the raid and are expected to be deported to Azerbaijan on Monday.
Supporters claim that Ms Babayeva, an Armenian who fled to Scotland with her sons in 2001, was sexually abused by police in Azerbaijan and her husband killed after he refused to serve in the military. Her sons are said to face jail for avoiding military service.
Ms Kane rescued the rat after Alex Babayeva told her he was "really worried" about him.
"The point is that Maxi has got more rights than the kids," she said.
"It's funny in a way, but the reality is the mother and kids have not seen a doctor. Maxi had seen a vet. The mother and kids haven't seen an agency that could help them. Maxi did, in the form of the SSPCA."
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "It is right and proper that people who have no rights to reside in the UK should be removed."

The Scotsman

Scottish Socialist MSP Colin Fox said: "I would like to give full credit to the parents and all those who fought hard to keep Lismore School open. Their arguments have been fully vindicated and they deserve every credit for what has turned out to be a remarkable victory for a determined local community."