Sanctuary for Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid
NCADC News Service | 27.05.2005 10:14 | Migration | Social Struggles | Birmingham
'Sanctuary for Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid'
The Rahimi Larki family Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid; nationals of Iran, were taken from their Wolverhampton home on Monday 16th May and taken to Yarl's Wood Removal Centre, where the are today. Most of their belongings were left behind. One of the Immigration officers packed their son, Navid's, belongings, bundling a lot of useless stuff into the bag, such as a blanket and toy puppets.
The Rahimi Larki family Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid; nationals of Iran, were taken from their Wolverhampton home on Monday 16th May and taken to Yarl's Wood Removal Centre, where the are today. Most of their belongings were left behind. One of the Immigration officers packed their son, Navid's, belongings, bundling a lot of useless stuff into the bag, such as a blanket and toy puppets.
The following day they were taken to the holding room at Heathrow Airport for removal. However, when the time came to board the plane, Zahrieh the mother refused to leave the building as she was determined not to allow her family to be returned to Iran from whence they had fled in fear of their lives.
Zahrieh and Alirezah went on hunger strike immediately they were detained and both remained on hunger strike for six days. Alirezah the father only came off the hunger strike when someone intimated to them their son Navid might be taken into care by Social Services if the parents remained on hunger strike. Zahrieh is still not eating and is very weak.
Ali is supposed to go to hospital (Solihull) on 28/05/05 to have his kidney stones removed. His left kidney is not working. His GP has been monitoring his kidney stones once a month. The hospital is booked and he has had scans and MRI. He also has two damaged discs in his vertebrae, 113 & 114, and is also supposed to have that operated on some time after July.
A visitor to the family at Yarl's Wood said: " He was limping quite severely when he came to meet me in the visiting room and is clearly in pain." Zahrieh is very depressed. She is not eating or sleeping and is very tearful. She was taking sleeping pills but now does not have them or the prescription with her. She feels weak, has headaches and a sore stomach from stress. Her eyes feel dark some times.
Their son Navid is behaving as though nothing is wrong, playing with other kids and the toys in the visiting room. He speaks perfect English and is in year one at Saint Mary's Catholic School in Cannock Road, Wolverhampton. He plays the piano very well, sometimes in church. He has not been in school for two weeks. Sister Maria from his school is in touch with the family in detention and has informed the school as to why Navid is absent. The family is not Muslim and not particularly religious but say they go to church because Navid is attending a Catholic school and people at the church have been so kind and welcoming.
In Iran, Zahrieh was a systems analyst in a computing department and Ali was a mechanical engineer in a petrol refinery. They are members of the 'Organisation of Iranian Peoples' Fedaian'. They operate underground in Iran and have branches in Germany, The Netherlands, UK and USA. Their headquarters is in Germany: Ali Pour Naghavi, Postfach 260243, 50515, Koln, Germany. The organisation has sent a letter dated 16th May, 2005, stating that they are members and therefore political dissidents in Iran.
Ali was in prison in Iran for belonging to the organisation. He was sentenced to 7 years, 5 of which were to be spent in prison and 2 spent outside prison but signing on each week and not going outside the city. He was in Kavon Prison in Ahvaz City. He served 3 years and 8 months in prison when Ayatollah Montazeri suggested that due to overcrowding in prisons in Iran, some prisoners could be released 2/3 into their sentence and spend the rest signing on. In a court hearing here in the UK, the judge said that 3 years and 8 months is less that 2/3 of 7 years but is was supposed to be 2/3 of the 5 years in prison. They moved from city to city 3/4 times, living for some time in Tehran as it is a big city and so more easy to move around freely.
Ali has a bent little finger on one hand from beatings he received in prison. He was beaten every day to make him confess about his political involvement and inform on others in the organisation. There were no doctors in the prison and a fellow prisoner bandaged his fingers. One is now straight but the other not. The torture was not raised in the court hearings here in the UK. Ali was held in solitary confinement for 4 months. The cell was 1m x 1m and dark. There was no toilet, only a plastic container that was emptied each day. He was moved to a bigger cell, 2m x 2m, shared by 4 prisoners. Every 6 - 12 months whilst in prison, they took blood from Ali for soldiers wounded in the Iran-Iraq war. The solicitor has the card as proof of giving blood. Ali served 3 years in the army, fighting in the Iran-Iraq war. Normally the period of military service was 2 years but he was penalized and served 3 years.
The family arrived in the UK on 17/08/2004 and claimed asylum on arrival. They were refused in November 2004. They appealed. The appeal was dismissed by the Adjudicator. Misunderstandings arose with the UK adjudicator who thought that Ali had been released early from his prison sentence and was not in as much danger as he made out. There was no interpreter for the solicitor. Ali felt the adjudicator did not allow him to explain the terms of his sentence properly to the court interpreter, that only someone versed in Iranian law would understand the law and how it works in Iran.
What you can do to help
Friends and supporters and the Iranian Association in the UK have helped Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid set up a campaign to try and persuade Charles Clarke the Home Secretary to allow the family to remain in the UK. The campaign has drawn up a petition and model letter attached, which they are asking everyone to print off, fill them in and get as many other people as possible to do the same, and return them to the campaign office. When they have collected enough signatures, the campaign will present them to the Home Secretary.
Let your friends know about the 'Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid Campaign' and get them to visit his web page read about the case and download the model letter and petition.
Zahrieh would welcome calls her language is Farsi, though she does speak English, so please try and give her a ring her courage deserves it.
Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid, Campaign
C/o Iranian Association
Palingswick House Annexe
241 King Street
London
W6 9LP
info@iranian-association.org.uk
http://www.iranian-association.org.uk/
'Sanctuary for Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid'
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/newszine58/zahrieh.htm
End of Bulletin:
Source for this Message:
Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid, Campaign
Zahrieh and Alirezah went on hunger strike immediately they were detained and both remained on hunger strike for six days. Alirezah the father only came off the hunger strike when someone intimated to them their son Navid might be taken into care by Social Services if the parents remained on hunger strike. Zahrieh is still not eating and is very weak.
Ali is supposed to go to hospital (Solihull) on 28/05/05 to have his kidney stones removed. His left kidney is not working. His GP has been monitoring his kidney stones once a month. The hospital is booked and he has had scans and MRI. He also has two damaged discs in his vertebrae, 113 & 114, and is also supposed to have that operated on some time after July.
A visitor to the family at Yarl's Wood said: " He was limping quite severely when he came to meet me in the visiting room and is clearly in pain." Zahrieh is very depressed. She is not eating or sleeping and is very tearful. She was taking sleeping pills but now does not have them or the prescription with her. She feels weak, has headaches and a sore stomach from stress. Her eyes feel dark some times.
Their son Navid is behaving as though nothing is wrong, playing with other kids and the toys in the visiting room. He speaks perfect English and is in year one at Saint Mary's Catholic School in Cannock Road, Wolverhampton. He plays the piano very well, sometimes in church. He has not been in school for two weeks. Sister Maria from his school is in touch with the family in detention and has informed the school as to why Navid is absent. The family is not Muslim and not particularly religious but say they go to church because Navid is attending a Catholic school and people at the church have been so kind and welcoming.
In Iran, Zahrieh was a systems analyst in a computing department and Ali was a mechanical engineer in a petrol refinery. They are members of the 'Organisation of Iranian Peoples' Fedaian'. They operate underground in Iran and have branches in Germany, The Netherlands, UK and USA. Their headquarters is in Germany: Ali Pour Naghavi, Postfach 260243, 50515, Koln, Germany. The organisation has sent a letter dated 16th May, 2005, stating that they are members and therefore political dissidents in Iran.
Ali was in prison in Iran for belonging to the organisation. He was sentenced to 7 years, 5 of which were to be spent in prison and 2 spent outside prison but signing on each week and not going outside the city. He was in Kavon Prison in Ahvaz City. He served 3 years and 8 months in prison when Ayatollah Montazeri suggested that due to overcrowding in prisons in Iran, some prisoners could be released 2/3 into their sentence and spend the rest signing on. In a court hearing here in the UK, the judge said that 3 years and 8 months is less that 2/3 of 7 years but is was supposed to be 2/3 of the 5 years in prison. They moved from city to city 3/4 times, living for some time in Tehran as it is a big city and so more easy to move around freely.
Ali has a bent little finger on one hand from beatings he received in prison. He was beaten every day to make him confess about his political involvement and inform on others in the organisation. There were no doctors in the prison and a fellow prisoner bandaged his fingers. One is now straight but the other not. The torture was not raised in the court hearings here in the UK. Ali was held in solitary confinement for 4 months. The cell was 1m x 1m and dark. There was no toilet, only a plastic container that was emptied each day. He was moved to a bigger cell, 2m x 2m, shared by 4 prisoners. Every 6 - 12 months whilst in prison, they took blood from Ali for soldiers wounded in the Iran-Iraq war. The solicitor has the card as proof of giving blood. Ali served 3 years in the army, fighting in the Iran-Iraq war. Normally the period of military service was 2 years but he was penalized and served 3 years.
The family arrived in the UK on 17/08/2004 and claimed asylum on arrival. They were refused in November 2004. They appealed. The appeal was dismissed by the Adjudicator. Misunderstandings arose with the UK adjudicator who thought that Ali had been released early from his prison sentence and was not in as much danger as he made out. There was no interpreter for the solicitor. Ali felt the adjudicator did not allow him to explain the terms of his sentence properly to the court interpreter, that only someone versed in Iranian law would understand the law and how it works in Iran.
What you can do to help
Friends and supporters and the Iranian Association in the UK have helped Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid set up a campaign to try and persuade Charles Clarke the Home Secretary to allow the family to remain in the UK. The campaign has drawn up a petition and model letter attached, which they are asking everyone to print off, fill them in and get as many other people as possible to do the same, and return them to the campaign office. When they have collected enough signatures, the campaign will present them to the Home Secretary.
Let your friends know about the 'Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid Campaign' and get them to visit his web page read about the case and download the model letter and petition.
Zahrieh would welcome calls her language is Farsi, though she does speak English, so please try and give her a ring her courage deserves it.
Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid, Campaign
C/o Iranian Association
Palingswick House Annexe
241 King Street
London
W6 9LP
info@iranian-association.org.uk http://www.iranian-association.org.uk/ 'Sanctuary for Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid'
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/newszine58/zahrieh.htm End of Bulletin:
Source for this Message:
Zahrieh, Alirezah and Navid, Campaign
NCADC News Service
Homepage:
http://www.ncadc.org.uk/newszine58/zahrieh.htm
