[Nyclocal] URGENT HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION - Act Now to Stop the Execution of Mehdi Kazemi

[William Wharton]

Friends,

Please consider taking an action to stop this
violation of human rights.  Please forward this email.

Peace,
Billy


Act Now to Stop the Execution of Mehdi Kazemi
Committee to Free Mehdi (NYC)

Seyed Mehdi Kazemi is a twenty year old homosexual in
imminent danger of being executed by the government of
Iran for what they describe as the crime of sodomy. 
Mehdi fled from Iran in November 2005 for Britain and
has since escaped to Holland. Dutch officials now
intend to return him to Britain despite the fact that
British officials have already rejected his claim for
asylum. Being charged with sodomy in Iran is a near
certain death sentence. In fact, Mehdi has already
been forced to live though the horror of having his
partner, Parham, hung to death on a similar charge in
April 2006.  

Mehdi’s application for asylum was turned down by the
British Home Office a few months ago.  According to
the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party in Britain,
"The Home Office claims that a gay person can return
to Iran and avoid persecution by being ‘discreet.’” In
response to this ruling, Mehdi fled in secret from
England, intending to eventually take refuge in
Canada, but was blocked and ended his desperate
journey in Holland. Now the United Kingdom has sent a
formal request to Holland asking for Mehdi’s return to
Britain - according to the Treaty of Dublin, and
according to regulation CE 343/2003. Once he lands in
Britain, deportation hearings will proceed and he will
be sent to face a death sentence in Iran.

Iranian officials have been quite clear about their
intentions. They claim that prior to his April 2006
execution, Mehdi’s partner Parham “confessed” to
having a relationship with Mehdi. The Iranian Police
have already turned up at Mehdi’s father’s home in
Teheran with an arrest warrant for his son, with the
intention of sending him to trial. The regime also has
a long bloody track record of violating the human
rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people.

Tragically the deportation of homosexuals in danger is
not unprecedented in the United Kingdom. There have
been at least two similar cases in the past - both
with horrific outcomes. According to the EveryOne
Group, a human rights group based in Europe, "In
September 2003, Israfil Shiri, a gay Iranian asylum
seeker, died after pouring petrol over himself and
setting himself on fire in the offices of Refugee
Action in Manchester, after his asylum claim was
refused [in the lower and appeal court] and his
deportation to Iran, where he would-have-been hanged,
had been arranged. In April 2005, 26-year-old Hussein
Nasseri shot himself two weeks after his asylum claim
was turned down by the Home Office, refusing in this
way to let himself be killed by Iranian executioners."

You can act now to stop another tragic loss of life
and a gross violation of human rights.  Please forward
this email to your friends, family and other
organizations. Ask them to consider endorsing the
attached letter of protest to Dutch, British and
European Union officials.  You could also request that
a speaker from the Committee to Free Mehdi (NYC) come
to your next meeting to give a short presentation.  If
you are located in the New York City area please
consider joining a contingent of people to deliver our
letter to these officials on March 21, 2008 at
12:00pm.

You can receive more info on the campaign by emailing
freemehdi at yahoo.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friend,
You have just read about the dire situation that Mehdi
faces.  Please sign on to the bottom of this letter. 
You should then cut and paste this letter into an
email and send it to the following addresses with the
appropriate cc’s:

To:
smithjj at parliament.uk

Cc’s:
simon at simonhughes.org.uk
freemehdi at yahoo.com

A physical copy of this letter will be delivered to
the British Ambassador in New York City on Friday
March 21st at 12:00 pm.  You are welcome to join the
Committee to Free Mehdi (NYC) in this endeavor (signs
expressing your views are welcome).  Email us for more
information at freemehdi at yahoo.com

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
March 12, 2008
Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary of United Kingdom
CC Simon Hughes, leader of the Liberal Democrats 

Dear Madam,

We recently learned that Seyed Mehdi Kazemi a 20 year
old Iranian homosexual is in imminent danger of
execution by the government of Iran.  Despite this
threat, your Home Office has rejected his application
for asylum and plans to repatriate him to Iran.
Iranian officials have been quite clear about their
intentions to prosecute Mr. Kazemi for what they
consider to be the crime of “sodomy.” They claim that
his partner Mr. Parham “confessed” to having a
relationship with Mr. Kazemi. As you know Mr. Parham
was hung to death in April 2006 on a similar charge. 
Reports say that Iranian Police have already turned up
at the Kazemi family home in Teheran with an arrest
warrant, with the intention of sending him to trial.

The repatriation of Mr. Kazemi amounts to a death
sentence. Upon his arrival in Iran he will most
certainly be arrested, imprisoned and brought before a
hanging judge. We believe that this constitutes a
gross violation of universally recognized human rights
and will sully your country’s commitment to defend the
rights of all. It also sends a signal to our neighbors
in the Middle East that a major Western Democracy is
willing to collaborate with a policy which is clearly
antithetical to any reasonable definition of personal
freedom.

Acting in a positive manner in Mr. Kazemi’s case will
also serve to prevent the recurrence of past tragedies
involving homosexual Iranian asylum seekers.  We refer
particularly to the cases of Israfil Shiri and Hussein
Nasseri. In September 2003, Mr. Shiri, a gay Iranian
asylum seeker, died after pouring petrol over himself
and setting himself on fire in the offices of Refugee
Action in Manchester. His asylum claim had been denied
and he faced imminent deportation to Iran. The case of
Mr. Nasseri in April 2005 was similarly disturbing.
Mr. Nasseri, a 26-year old gay man, shot himself two
weeks after his asylum claim was denied by the Home
Office. This tragic act was his last refusal to let
himself be placed in the hands of Iranian
executioners. 

We implore you to draw on your country’s history of
humanitarianism, including your 19th century abolition
of the African slave trade and the relatively peaceful
end to colonization in India and Africa in the 20th
century, as a moral guide to save Mr. Kazemi’s life.
We ask that you reverse your ruling on Mr. Kazemi’s
asylum claim or that you transfer him to another
country in the European Union willing to grant his
claim. Doing so will send a clear message to world
about the need to defend the human rights of every
individual.


Sincerely,





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