Smores!!!
Posted on 05/27/2003 12:13:36 PM PDT by onehipdad
Refugee Stitches Face in Asylum Protest (Filed: 27/05/2003)
An Iranian refugee has stitched his lips, eyes and ears together and is on hunger strike as a protest against the possibility of being deported.
Abas Amini Abas Amini, 33, who is living in Nottingham, took the action after his successful bid for asylum was challenged by the Home Office. The Home Office said it would not comment on individual cases, but it is understood Mr Amini was given asylum three weeks ago after his original application was rejected.
However, the Home Office is thought to be seeking a judicial review of the case, which could result in Mr Amini being sent home, where he claims to have been tortured.
Mr Amini has been on hunger strike for a week and is is reported to be threatening to burn himself to death if anyone forces him to eat. He has a bottle of petrol with him in case he has to carry out the threat.
Chris Udenze, a doctor visiting him, said Mr Amini is thinking rationally and knows the consequences of his actions, but he fears he will be executed if he returns to Iran.
He told The Guardian: "He is very weak and dehydrated through not drinking anything for several days. He will rapidly deteriorate if he doesn't take any fluids, and he is quite clear that he actually wants to die."
Mr Amini told the newspaper, through his sewn lips: "I spent many years in prison being tortured; I was forced to flee here. Shouldn't a human being have a square foot of earth to live on to live in peace?"
The newspaper reports that Mr Amini was a member of a rebel group. A poet and a communist, he was repeatedly jailed and tortured for his writing. He first arrived in Britain two years ago, leaving his wife and three-year-old son behind.
A Home Office spokesman said last night: "If this has happened, then it is deeply regrettable that someone would choose this course of action. It sounds horrendous."
How many Darwins does he think he can win?
Smores!!!
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