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What is going on with Alireza since he came to the UK? (October 20, 2008)
Note: We are dealing with Alireza's case since 2007 and he needs support in the UK. One of our friends who contacted us for a research and met Alireza in person wrote this report to us. She is so nice and trying to help Alireza. But we need more support especially for his legal situation. – Arsham Parsi, IRQR
I'll try to explain you what is going on with Alireza since he came to the UK, almost three years ago. Sorry, it is a bit long text, but it contains important details about his life. Why Alireza fled Iran
Alireza used to play football and after a while training with a team (it was three years ago), his coach approached him and told Alireza he was interested in him (and the coach said clearly he wanted to have sex with Alireza). Alireza agreed, and the coach, named Nader, brought Alireza to a mosque, where they had sex. The problem is that Nader is a member of the Islamic police. While they were in the mosque, someone saw them from outside through the window (some police officer) and invaded the room where they were. Nader pretended that Alireza was abusing him. Nader throw himself on the floor and started shouting at Alireza, and them, with the other police officers that invaded the room, Nader started punching and kicking Alireza on the face and stomach. Alireza was put in a room apart in the mosque, where the other police officers kept beating him. Then Nader came and told everybody to leave. Once he was alone with Alireza, Nader said: 'listen, I had to do that, otherwise we both would be in trouble, we both would be sent to the Islamic court. Now, you have to flee, you can use that window. I will tell them another story, and they will believe me because I'm a police officer'. Alireza, immediately, fled through the window. He just had time to go home, get some money and hide in a friend's house. Few hours later, the police were at Alireza's home looking for him. Alireza's brother called him and told what was going on. Alireza, then, decided to go to another city. But the police spread the news that they were looking for Alireza, a criminal. Alireza's friend told him he were better to leave the country. Alireza was introduced to a guy that facilitated his trip abroad, illegally, of course. Alireza paid him some money and after few days, he was in a lorry that brought him to the UK (they traveled during the night, and the trip took two weeks or so). Alireza's situation in the UK Alireza followed all the steps to be recognized as an asylum seeker. He went to the police station in Croydon. From there, they sent him to Oakington to be interviewed and, perhaps, to get the asylum done. The problem is at that time, Alireza understood almost nothing of English. The translator for Alireza in Oakington was a Muslim lady. Alireza said she was clearly uncomfortable with the fact that Alireza is gay. During the translation, she asked to stop the work several times saying she was not feeling well. Once of the questions they ask Alireza was if he is gay. The translator used the word gay to ask Alireza, but he thought that the word gay, in English, means the man who is the passive part in a homosexual relationship between men. And Alireza answered: no, I'm not gay. They repeated the question, and the translator used the same word, and Alireza gave the same answer. Alireza had his asylum claim refused (he is not sure if it happened because of the translation, but he's really convinced that the bad translation was not good for his case). After that, Alireza appealed to the court. When his solicitor knew the name of the judge that would deal with his case, she told him that it would be hard, because that judge was not an easy person. At the day of the judgment, again, Alireza had problems with the translation. Alireza's solicitor brought an independent translator to check if Home office's translator was doing a good work. In some of the answers of Alireza, the independent translator said that the home office's translator was saying things that were not exactly what Alireza said. Immediately, Alireza's solicitor asked the judge to stop the judgment. She asked that for more than twice, but the judge denied the solicitor's claim. At that day, Alireza had his asylum denied for the second time. From that day on, Home Office told Alireza he should leave the UK, and deprived him from the financial support. Alireza, after that, started living on the streets. He did that for more than 18 months, and it was in that occasion he prostituted himself to get money to survive. Alireza was helped out for a guy called Andy, who works for the Red Cross and found him on the street. Andy spoke to Sebastian Rocca, from UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group. Sebastian found a solicitor for Alireza (R. B.), to appeal again to the court. Alireza and his solicitor Alireza told me he was never introduced to R.B. in person. If I'm not mistaken, they just spoke over the phone, email and through Sebastian's intermediation. What Alireza told me is that R.B. just contacted him twice or three times (and Alireza can not understand R.B.'s spoken English. again, the problem with language that always complicates Alireza's life). In the first contact, R.B. told him he would send the documents to home office to start the appeal process, and that after six months he would contact him. After that time, R.B. said he had no news from home office. One or two weeks ago, Alireza sent R.B. an email asking for news, and he said by email that his case was really complicated (he didn't say why), and he was afraid to contact home office and, after that, home office starts a process to remove Alireza from the UK (it seems that so far home office doesn't intend to remove Alireza). So far, we don't know what his status is, because Alireza told me that R.B. never explained him what was going on. Alireza is totally in the darkness about his case. And, if I'm not mistaken, R.B. doesn't know all Alireza's story (especially what happened to him during his two judgments in the UK and the 18 months time he was left on the street). So, we don't know what is going on in the home office and even how long it's going to take. How is Alireza nowadays Alireza started English classes provided for asylum seekers, and this is good because it keeps his mind busy and he can sort out the problem of the English language. However, he's still suffering from depression. He's afraid of what is going to happen with his asylum claim, and he knows he can not go back to Iran because both the police and his father want to see him dead. Alireza's mother didn't die. She had thirty percent of her body burnt when she tried to commit suicide setting fire on her. She spent a long time in the hospital, and still she's not recovered. Alireza told me last week that his mother needed to be sent back to the hospital to be treated, but his family doesn't have the money to afford it anymore. Alireza's father got divorced of his wife and left her without any financial support (he even forbid her to see their youngest daughter, who is nine years old or so). And this fact really makes Alireza more and more depressed. What I
am trying to do I wish I could do more for Alireza, seriously, in a legal way. But even if I contact his solicitor and he gives me lots of information about Alireza's case, I wouldn't be able to look for another solicitor if it's the case, or to interfere in something. Alireza needs support.
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Since Alireza's father found out he is gay (it happened when Alireza was
still a teenager) they couldn't have a good relationship. Alireza's father
is a very strict Muslim, and kept blaming Alireza's mother for the fact he
is gay and blaming Alireza for been a reason 'of shame' for the family.
Alireza never felt comfortable with his condition in Iran, and because of
that, he tried to commit suicide more than once (I could see by myself
loads of scars made with knife all over his arms). Alireza's mother was
the only one who supported him.