An emergency protest was held last night for a man who the Home Office deported to Afghanistan despite his fear of being beheaded by the Taliban.

Samim Bigzad was taken from an immigration detention centre near Gatwick airport and forced onto a plane to Turkey on Tuesday.

Mr Bigzad had said that Taliban militants targeted him because he worked for a construction company that has contracts with the Afghan government and US military.

Mr Bigzad’s lawyers accused the Home Office of violating a court order, securing a last-minute injunction while he was being held in Istanbul awaiting a connecting flight to Kabul.

Lawyers said the court order would force the Home Office to fly the 22-year-old back to Britain for a judicial review into the handling of his asylum claim and his wider treatment.

Half an hour before the flight was due to depart, the Home Office promised to enact the order.

But, according to solicitor Jamie Bell, “for unknown reasons they did not do so,” and he was put on a flight to Afghanistan.

As the Star went to press, Mr Bigzad was in a hotel room in Kabul waiting to hear his fate, with solicitors considering making an application for a second court order.

Mr Bell said the existing injunction requires the government to return him to Britain.

Kent Anti-Racism Network chair Bridget Chapman said: “We will not rest until the court order is enforced and Samim is safely returned.

“Nor will we forget other voiceless detainees being subject to harsh and cruel practices such as forced deportations and indefinite detention. These breaches of basic human rights shame us all.”

The Migrants’ Rights Network also urged the Home Office to respect the court’s decision.

And the Green Party said the government risked having “blood on its hands.”

Deputy party leader Amelia Womack said: “It’s a cruel and callous government that’s willing to send a man to his death. It’s a shameless and undemocratic one that would do so against the wishes of a court of law.”

The Greens and the Kent Anti-Racism Network organised last night’s protest outside the Home Office in Westminster.