Asylum seekers end hunger strike after 37 days
EXCLUSIVE
By Gareth Davies
-
SECOND CHANCE: Mahyar Meyari, brother Mehran and Keyvan Behari have been allowed to reapply for asylum in the UK
gareth.davies@essnmedia.co.uk
DESPERATION gave way to hope this week as a group of failed asylum seekers ended their hunger strike after 37 days.
The men were convinced to stop their protest after being given the chance to fight their deportation to
They had demonstrated outside Lunar House, the UK Border Agency's headquarters in
But their pleas for help were answered after a lawyer took up their cases and lodged new applications for asylum with the Home Office.
After deciding to end their protest Keyvan Behari, 30, who sewed his mouth together with fishing line, said: "We have hope, that is all we asked for."
Keyvan and two brothers, Mehran and Mahyar Meyari, had refused medical and legal assistance, convinced their cause was lost.
After coverage in the Advertiser, human rights charities alerted laywer Hani Zubeidi, head of immigration at law firm Fadiga & Co.
Yesterday he presented a report and medical examinations to the Home Office, which aim to prove the group was beaten and tortured in
Mr Zubeidi showed the documents to Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell, who visited the protestors on Tuesday morning.
Mr Barwell said: "The letter detailed how they hadn't been medically assessed during their first application.
"It is compelling, but we have yet to be given the UKBA's side of the story.
"My main concern was that they were continuing to hunger strike when they hadn't exhausted the legal options available to them.
"I'm determined to do everything I can to make sure the UK Border Agency assesses the new applications as quickly as possible, but these things take time."
Mehran, 20, who lost 11kg during the protest, said: "Mr Barwell said he would support us, but that our situation couldn't continue.
"We have all lost a lot of weight and feel very weak, but I can now eat knowing I may have a future."
The protestors, who have agreed to go to hospital for treatment, are members of Green Wave Voice, a movement which began following the re-election of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009.
Keyvan, a former wrestling champion, says he was beaten by the police after being arrested during pro-democracy demonstrations.
Mahyar says he was raped by loyalist officers when he was 16.
Their protest outside Lunar House led the Iranian Refugees Action Network to take up the cause.
They started a petition which attracted 2,000 signatures.
Protestors' first meal
CHICKEN soup is on the menu as three protestors begin their gradual recovery from a 37 day hunger strike.
The men, who lost a combined 29kg during their demonstration, will have their diets closely regulated in hospital before being able to eat solid foods.
They had consumed only sugar and salt mixed with water for nearly five weeks. This diet took its toll on Keyvan Behari, who developed a kidney infection and problems with his knees, but refused medical attention.
When asked what his first proper meal would be, Keyvan smiled: "I have compiled a list of 20 things I will eat as soon as I am able. Most of them are my favourite foods from
Mehran Meyari believes the publicity has helped win the men a second chance of staying in the
But it has also made him and his family a target.
He said: "My parents have been calling telling me not to come home because they think I will be killed.
"The hunger strike was reported on the news in
Charity’s praise for the Advertiser
A HUMAN rights charity has praised the Advertiser for its role in securing a second chance for the hunger striking asylum seekers.
We were the first to report on their protest which has since received global media attention, with reports appearing on CNN, the BBC and The Guardian.
Dr Gill Gillespie, co-founder of the Iranian Refugees Action Network, became involved in the case after reading about the demonstration on our website, www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk.
She said: "If the Advertiser had not produced this article and the follow-ups, it would not have been brought to anyone's attention and attracted all this support."
72 Comments
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by Justine, Coulsdon
Tuesday, May 17 2011, 10:01AM
“My dad (a pensioner who has paid taxes all his life) has terrible pain in his knees, he's been told by the NHS that the treatment he requires is too expensive! Yet this lot, who've never paid a penny in taxes, & have no right to be in this country, will no doubt be getting the best medical care money can buy courtesy of the NHS, for the self-inflicted damage they've done to their internal organs through not eating properly for over a month. Sickening.”
by Don Key, croydon
Monday, May 16 2011, 8:40PM
“Apparently if they go home they will get stoned to death.
That kids is an advert on why you shouldn't do drugs, its all fun until you smoke so much you die from it.”
by Anon, Anon
Monday, May 16 2011, 7:23PM
“I'm so glad the men are getting the care they so rightly deserve. These are in no doubt genuine cases here.”
by julie, croydon
Monday, May 16 2011, 1:45PM
“They say they will be killed if they went back home,some don't tell the truth they lie to stay in the uk. Funny how they all come here. You watch word get around to kip in a tent outside the council. Send them home,croydon and else where is full in the uk. They all seem to stay in croydon,thats why i'm waiting fro a move,don't want to live with these people here,to much crime in croydon with these outsiders.. Croydon not the same no more,i can't go out at night to the shops. This not good.”
by Don Key, croydon
Monday, May 16 2011, 12:36PM
“Medically speaking, after 37 days those stitches were due to be taken out by then anyway.
I assume they were trying to play doctors and nurses in that tent”
by Oh please!, croydon
Sunday, May 15 2011, 4:28PM
“That is why someone has stepped in to help them, so your comment Jason makes no sense..lol
At least I am not filled with such hate, and bitterness.”
by Indy, cr2
Sunday, May 15 2011, 4:12PM
“oh please. Do shut up, why don't you go and do some peace making in Iran if you feel so strongly about them!”
by Jason, Croydon
Sunday, May 15 2011, 4:06PM
“@ oh please! - There have been very valid points made, including references to both the law and the lack of finances/resources to realistically continue to accomodate illegal immigrants.
It appears that do-gooders such as yourself, no longer have a constructive argument to present to this lively and very interesting discussion.”
by oh please!, croydon
Sunday, May 15 2011, 2:39PM
“Oh do be quiet, and stop thinking about yourselves, you selfish people. Hate, hate, hate, that is all you hear these days. Be thankful that your healthy, and can be in a position to take care of yourself.”
by Justine, Coulsdon
Sunday, May 15 2011, 10:47AM
“So what if they're hard workers? If they are then they'll take jobs that unemployed Brits could do, probably for a lot less wages, thus saving the employers a lot of money (must be why Barwell & his Tory cronies are so keen on them). If they are not hard workers, then they'll add to Britain's welfare budget - either way it's a lose lose situation for our country. Furthermore, where are they going to live? Seeing as they're presently living in a tent, I guess that makes them homeless, thus enabling them to leap-frog Brits that have been on the council's housing waiting list for donkey's years. If they get to stay, then just you wait - it won't be long before they want to bring over their families to this incredibly over-crowded island, they'll then start producing children, who will require school places which are currently in short supply. It goes on & on & on, the detrimental effect on this country & her people of this utter lack of control over immigration.....”