Bita Ghaedi Deportation Fails after massive campaign launched.
Terence Bunch | 20.04.2010 21:58 | Analysis | Migration | Repression | World
This afternoon, her partner, Mohsen and his solicitor fought furiously to prevent the flight with appeals and an injunction. A large number of supporters, friends and activists remained on standby to travel to London Heathrow Airport ready to act. Peace campaigners deployed themselves in London and Washington even showing up in television news reports being broadcast from outside the British Parliament building.
Activists on the Streets.
Activists in Downing Street.
Bita and the PMOI.
Bita Campaigning for Human Rights.
We are delighted to report that the deportation of Bita Ghaedi, scheduled to take place at 7pm tonight on a flight to Tehran from London Heathrow Airport has failed.
This afternoon, her partner, Mohsen and his solicitor fought furiously to prevent the flight with appeals and an injunction. A large number of supporters, friends and activists remained on standby to travel to London Heathrow Airport ready to act. Peace campaigners deployed themselves in London and Washington even showing up in television news reports being broadcast from outside the British Parliament building.
After a day of furious phone calls, emails and text messaging, Flight BD931 remained stubbornly scheduled to depart to Imam Khomeini Airport, Tehran throughout the morning and well into the afternoon, despite most other flights being cancelled due to disruption to UK airspace caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption.
Around 3:30pm this afternoon, news came through that the deportation flight had joined many other flights at London Heathrow to be cancelled.
But Bita remains at risk. While she has been engaged in hunger strikes at YarlsWood Detention Centre her health has worsened and she still faces deportation with very little notice. Her health is poor and she is severely stressed as a result of her experience.
She remains incarcerated at Yarls Wood Detention Centre and is not likely to be released until her application for asylum is approved by the Home Office. Both her partner and solicitor are acting to ensure her case is successful.
Bita has been campaigning against human rights abuses committed by the regime in Iran most notably against the appalling and vicious attacks carried out against the residents of Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq by covert Iranian agents acting in concert with Iraqi security forces. Camp Ashraf was attacked by these agents after the United States released its obligations to the residents of Camp Ashraf, aka Ashraf City earlier in 2009. The attacks are widely understood to have been sponsored by Iran in order to force the PMOI's capitulation. After 36 residents of the camp were taken hostage, Iran put severe pressure on the Iraqi Government to forcibly hand over the men in order to allow it to hold show trials of its enemies in order to stave of chronic criticism it was experiencing as a result of the disputed election of June 2009 of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
She has also campaigned to bring public attention to the victims of numerous public executions which have been taking place as a result of large scale pro-democracy protests surrounding the disputed election. In the last two weeks alone, 24 people have been hanged in public in Iran. The executions are seen as having taken place in the lead up to International Workers’ Day, expected to see further protests on the streets of Iran. Bita is unable to continue her campaigning work while more executions take place.
Over the past few days, British supporters and activists have been engaged in protests outside the British Home Office, outside the Parliament building at College Green and online activists and supporters have been bombarding British MP's, UK media and even the UK monarchy with an online campaign targeted at the Prince of Wales. In the United States, fellow activists and supporters gathered outside the British Embassy in Washington to protest the deportation. Despite the UK Government having been dissolved so the country can hold elections, and despite most Government departments being absent senior members of that Government, campaigners worldwide have launched a colossal campaign to ensure Bita was not sent to her death.
Today, Bita has escaped hell but the fight to prevent her being returned to a country in the midst of severe political disruption continues.
Her supporters, her legal team, her partner and allied activists both in the United Kingdom and the United States have less than a week to prove that her life will come to a violent end if she is returned.
We urge all humanitarian activists to write to the Home Secretary Alan Johnson at the British Home Office (UK) on +44 (0)20 7035 4848 ASAP to help save Bita and to press upon what remains of the British Government the case to stop her deportation.
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Camp Ashraf Attacks.
Attacks on Camp Ashraf, home of the PMOI July 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNF36mY4Ojg
Attacks on Camp Ashraf, home of the PMOI (two) July 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_dc3rJ82c
Iranian sponsored attacks at entrance to Camp Ashraf July 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZiJaJC4Kug&feature=related
--------------------------------------------------------------
Camp Ashraf Soldarity Hunger Strikes
Protests against the attacks, US Embassy, London September 2009
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/09/437352.html
British support for the Camp Ashraf soldarity hunger strikers, US Embassy, London September 2009
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/09/438595.html
--------------------------------------------------------------
Allawi accuses Iran of election interference
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8595207.stm
--------------------------------------------------------------
Iranian Elections Violent Protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnpsr2fLp1Q
Shooting in the streets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKpurfLzjtg
--------------------------------------------------------------
The following video shows a hanging execution scene in Iran being overrun by those forced into a public square to witness the scene. It is a very typical example of the Iranian state using domestic law and order to assert its political will. The crowd find the scene intolerable and rush forward to rescue the men.
State Power posing as Judicial Punishment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6sBEa8qDVo&feature=related
--------------------------------------------------------------
Bita, her story in her own words
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/02/445707.html
Bita arrested during a dawn raid
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/449215.html
Petition to prevent Bita's deportation
http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/33778/sign.html
The Free Bita Campaign
http://freeghaedi.tumblr.com/
Condemnation of the British Government
http://missionfreeiran.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/mfi-denounces-uk-regarding-ghaedi-case/
What to do to help
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_deportation_of_bita_ghaedi_to_iran
This afternoon, her partner, Mohsen and his solicitor fought furiously to prevent the flight with appeals and an injunction. A large number of supporters, friends and activists remained on standby to travel to London Heathrow Airport ready to act. Peace campaigners deployed themselves in London and Washington even showing up in television news reports being broadcast from outside the British Parliament building.
After a day of furious phone calls, emails and text messaging, Flight BD931 remained stubbornly scheduled to depart to Imam Khomeini Airport, Tehran throughout the morning and well into the afternoon, despite most other flights being cancelled due to disruption to UK airspace caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption.
Around 3:30pm this afternoon, news came through that the deportation flight had joined many other flights at London Heathrow to be cancelled.
But Bita remains at risk. While she has been engaged in hunger strikes at YarlsWood Detention Centre her health has worsened and she still faces deportation with very little notice. Her health is poor and she is severely stressed as a result of her experience.
She remains incarcerated at Yarls Wood Detention Centre and is not likely to be released until her application for asylum is approved by the Home Office. Both her partner and solicitor are acting to ensure her case is successful.
Bita has been campaigning against human rights abuses committed by the regime in Iran most notably against the appalling and vicious attacks carried out against the residents of Camp Ashraf in Northern Iraq by covert Iranian agents acting in concert with Iraqi security forces. Camp Ashraf was attacked by these agents after the United States released its obligations to the residents of Camp Ashraf, aka Ashraf City earlier in 2009. The attacks are widely understood to have been sponsored by Iran in order to force the PMOI's capitulation. After 36 residents of the camp were taken hostage, Iran put severe pressure on the Iraqi Government to forcibly hand over the men in order to allow it to hold show trials of its enemies in order to stave of chronic criticism it was experiencing as a result of the disputed election of June 2009 of the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
She has also campaigned to bring public attention to the victims of numerous public executions which have been taking place as a result of large scale pro-democracy protests surrounding the disputed election. In the last two weeks alone, 24 people have been hanged in public in Iran. The executions are seen as having taken place in the lead up to International Workers’ Day, expected to see further protests on the streets of Iran. Bita is unable to continue her campaigning work while more executions take place.
Over the past few days, British supporters and activists have been engaged in protests outside the British Home Office, outside the Parliament building at College Green and online activists and supporters have been bombarding British MP's, UK media and even the UK monarchy with an online campaign targeted at the Prince of Wales. In the United States, fellow activists and supporters gathered outside the British Embassy in Washington to protest the deportation. Despite the UK Government having been dissolved so the country can hold elections, and despite most Government departments being absent senior members of that Government, campaigners worldwide have launched a colossal campaign to ensure Bita was not sent to her death.
Today, Bita has escaped hell but the fight to prevent her being returned to a country in the midst of severe political disruption continues.
Her supporters, her legal team, her partner and allied activists both in the United Kingdom and the United States have less than a week to prove that her life will come to a violent end if she is returned.
We urge all humanitarian activists to write to the Home Secretary Alan Johnson at the British Home Office (UK) on +44 (0)20 7035 4848 ASAP to help save Bita and to press upon what remains of the British Government the case to stop her deportation.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Camp Ashraf Attacks.
Attacks on Camp Ashraf, home of the PMOI July 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNF36mY4Ojg Attacks on Camp Ashraf, home of the PMOI (two) July 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi_dc3rJ82c Iranian sponsored attacks at entrance to Camp Ashraf July 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZiJaJC4Kug&feature=related --------------------------------------------------------------
Camp Ashraf Soldarity Hunger Strikes
Protests against the attacks, US Embassy, London September 2009
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/09/437352.html British support for the Camp Ashraf soldarity hunger strikers, US Embassy, London September 2009
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/09/438595.html --------------------------------------------------------------
Allawi accuses Iran of election interference
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8595207.stm --------------------------------------------------------------
Iranian Elections Violent Protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnpsr2fLp1Q Shooting in the streets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKpurfLzjtg --------------------------------------------------------------
The following video shows a hanging execution scene in Iran being overrun by those forced into a public square to witness the scene. It is a very typical example of the Iranian state using domestic law and order to assert its political will. The crowd find the scene intolerable and rush forward to rescue the men.
State Power posing as Judicial Punishment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6sBEa8qDVo&feature=related --------------------------------------------------------------
Bita, her story in her own words
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/02/445707.html Bita arrested during a dawn raid
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2010/04/449215.html Petition to prevent Bita's deportation
http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/33778/sign.html The Free Bita Campaign
http://freeghaedi.tumblr.com/ Condemnation of the British Government
http://missionfreeiran.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/mfi-denounces-uk-regarding-ghaedi-case/ What to do to help
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/stop_the_deportation_of_bita_ghaedi_to_iran
Terence Bunch
e-mail:
terry.bunch@terencebunch.co.uk