Mehdi Kazemi case: British war press indulges again in 'humanitarian' propaganda

Hi Xenia

Can you clarify what you mean?

Are you saying that the campaign to stop Mehdi Kazemi being deported to Iran is somehow an excuse to wage war on Iran?

Do you support Mehdi Kazemi being deported by the British state to Iran?

pardon me if I've misunderstood, but it's not clear from your posting what your saying
It seem sto me it is possible to be against the Iranian regime's aggression against Iranian people and the British / USA aggression against Iran. It's not about choosing sides but making sides.

Or do you think people are incapable of holding more than one idea in their heads at any given moment?

Well, my dear, by the time you get it, the US will probably descend into a de facto dictatorship ruled by a black or female version of Bush.

1) Open letter by members of the House of Lords
2) Their Lordships speak out: deportations to Iran must end
3) Now MPs join fight to save Mehdi Kazemi


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 http://www.independent.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00021/pdf2_21552a.pdf


Open letter by members of the House of Lords

Independent, 28 March 2008



The Editor,
The Independent Newspaper 26th March 2008


Dear Sir,

The case of Mehdi Kazemi demonstrates that a moratorium on the removal of those who could face persecution, torture or execution in Iran is the only moral course of action.

We welcome the decision of the Home Secretary to look again at Mr Kasemi's case and to reconsider the original decision to refuse him asylum in the United Kingdom.

The Home Office have acted appropriately in this, as indeed they have acted within the law throughout this case. However, this is not simply a legal matter but a moral one too.

Asylum cases must, of course, be conducted and decided according to the law. But when we are making decisions of life or death, we must be aware of the human consequences of the cold letter of the law.

When we are dealing with a country like Iran – one which, in January alone, executed over 30 prisoners, including one who was lying on a stretcher at the time – we must not take deportations lightly.

The UN Safeguards guaranteeing protection rights for those facing the death penalty, clarified in Resolution 2005/59 of the Commission on Human Rights, says clearly that the death penalty should not be imposed for non-violent acts such as sexual relations between consenting adults.

We join the Amnesty International in calling for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty in Iran, to be followed by its wholesale abolition. However, under Iran's present leadership this appears exceedingly unlikely.

In this case, there is only one ethical course of action for the British government to take. That is a moratorium on such removals to Iran.

We, the undersigned, urge Her Majesty's government to implement such a moratorium immediately.

Yours etc


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 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/asylum-the-peers-revolt-801745.html


excerpt from 'Their Lordships speak out: deportations to Iran must end'

by Robert Verkaik, Independent, 28 March 2008


The campaign for a more compassionate asylum policy has also been taken up in the House of Commons, where 46 MPs have signed an early day motion demanding that the Government "asserts its position as a supporter of human rights" by granting Mr Kazemi sanctuary. The peers' letter, signed by – among others – the film director David Puttnam, the former Commons speaker Betty Boothroyd, and the human rights barrister Helena Kennedy QC, comes the day after a damning report into Britain's immigration system which described the treatment of refugees in this country as "shameful."

That report, published by the Independent Asylum Commission, led by a former senior judge, said the immigration policy denied sanctuary to some refugees who were in genuine need of help.

Human rights groups believe the Lords' letter and yesterday's report mark a key moment in government thinking on asylum which they hope will lead to a radical overhaul of the list of countries considered too dangerous for asylum-seekers to be deported to. Asylum rights campaigners also hope such a significant intervention will lead to a broader moratorium on deportations to all countries with poor or questionable human rights records, not just Iran.

But the Lords believe Mr Kazemi's case is of such grave concern they must act to change British asylum policy on Iran first.


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 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/now-mps-join-fight-to-save-mehdi-kazemi-802336.html


Now MPs join fight to save Mehdi Kazemi

by Robert Verkaik, Independent, 29 March 2008


MPs from all three main political parties have joined peers to call for a moratorium on the deportation of asylum-seekers to Iran. The move follows a letter published in The Independent yesterday, in which 17 peers urged the Government to rethink asylum policy in the wake of the case of a gay teenager facing execution if deported to Iran.

A second letter signed by seven MPs, including Chris Huhne (Liberal Democrat), Andrew Dismore (Labour) and John Bercow (Conservative), says ministers have a moral duty to halt the deportation of any Iranian fearing persecution if returned to the state.

The parliamentarians of both Houses have been struck by the case of Mehdi Kazemi, 19, who claimed asylum in Britain in 2006 when he found out his former partner had been executed for sodomy. The Home Office rejected his application but after a public outcry finally agreed this month to reconsider his case.

Simon Hughes, MP for Southwark North and Bermondsey and president of the Liberal Democrats, organised the Commons letter. He said: "The Lords' letter about the Mehdi Kazemi case shows growing awareness that sending asylum-seekers back to countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and Zimbabwe is unacceptable because of the risk to their safety and the abhorrent behaviour of those regimes."

Last week Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney, tabled an early day motion in support of Mr Kazemi. She said yesterday: "It is not sufficient to implement laws to protect oppressed groups without giving protection to asylum-seekers in the same groups from different countries."