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 Iran.

They had demonstrated outside Lunar House, the UK Border Agency's headquarters in Wellesley Road, for nearly five weeks, fearing their lives were at risk if they were deported.

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 Iran.

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 Iran."

Mehran Meyari believes the publicity has helped win the men a second chance of staying in the UK.

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 Iran. They know my face, my family and I fear for their safety."

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."