Sarah Stephen
On January 14, the same day that he received a letter rejecting his s417 appeal for ministerial intervention, Iranian asylum seeker Ardeshir Gholipour took an overdose of sleeping tablets. He was admitted to Port Augusta hospital and is now back in Baxter detention centre, but remains fearful and vulnerable. A statement from writers' organisation PEN International in London condemned Gholipour's detention and imminent deportation: "After five years in detention, a resilient and courageous man has been finally driven to despair."
A campaign has been mounted by refugee supporters and PEN International to stop Gholipour's deportation to Iran, where he faces possible death due to his activities against the Iranian regime.
PEN Australia detailed why Gholipour's case was significant in a letter: "Between 1985 and 2000, Ardeshir exhibited great courage as an outspoken supporter of democratic reform in Iran.
"Gholipour's case is significant for a number of reasons. First, for his great courage in campaigning for democracy in Iran. In 1987 Gholipour was arrested and spent over 21 months in Iran's notorious Evin prison for distributing pamphlets on behalf of the Iran Freedom Movement. As a writer and designer for a number of provincial papers he produced articles on social reform matters.
"Gholipour also wrote articles on behalf of the Left Union for Democracy in Iran, and participated in the student demonstrations of July 1999. He fled Iran in fear of his life.
"Gholipour's case is also significant for the humanity and generosity of spirit he has displayed whilst in Australian immigration detention. He has gained many supporters in Australia because of his tireless work on behalf of other detainees, and also because as an artist, he painted numerous murals in the Port Hedland detention centre. These included uplifting scenes for children then held in detention. He was dubbed 'the Michelangelo of Port Hedland'."
On January 5, Gholipour received a letter from PEN International accepting that his refugee claim was well-founded, and urging the Australian government to look sympathetically on his case. Refugee supporters are outraged that it appears to have had no impact on the immigration minister's decision.
In the letter, Dr Karin Clark, chair of PEN's Writers in Prison Committee, wrote that Gholipour "has real reason to fear persecution for his legitimate and peaceful political activism should he be returned to Iran. His involvement in the Iran Freedom Movement and the Left Union for Democracy in Iran makes him particularly vulnerable to repression."
Clark also referred to Pirooz Davani, "also a writer, and with whom, until his murder in 1998, Gholipour worked closely. Both worked on articles for Khaber that were strongly critical of the Iranian government and called for constitutional change. Information they published included reports of mass graves containing the bodies of dissidents, and implicating the security services in the deaths and the torture of political activists."
Contact immigration minister Amanda Vanstone's office to express your outrage that Gholipour has not been accepted as a refugee. Phone (08) 8223 1757 or 1800 018 282 (toll free from South Australia) or fax (08) 8223 1750 to reach her electorate office in Adelaide. Phone (02) 6277 7860 or fax (02) 6273 4144 to reach her parliamentary office in Canberra.
From Green Left Weekly, January 26, 2005.
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