URGENT PETITION ON BEHALF OF MR. ASGHAR HEDAYATI, AN IRANIAN LGBT

To All Concerned, This past Saturday I received an Urgent Action appeal from Mr. Arsham Parsi of the Toronto-based Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees regarding the case of Mr. Asghar Hedayati, a forty-year-old Iranian LGBT now living in exile in Norway and facing imminent deportation back to the Islamic Republic within the next 24-48 hours. Given that the Islamist extremist Iranian regime routinely imprisons, tortures and executes LGBTs under the law of Lavat, deportation back to Iran would be nothing less than a death sentence for Mr. Hedayati. Mr. Parsi sent me the following update, form letter and contact information which I would like you all to cut and paste and forward to the specified contacts in the Norwegian government. Please respond quickly, as time is of the essence. An innocent life hangs in the balance, and the opportunity to save the world entire rests in our hands. Voices raised in protest have saved innocent lives in the past, and may again. Thank you all very much on behalf of myself, Mr. Hedayati, Mr. Parsi and IRQR. UPDATE: CURRENT STATUS OF MR. HEDAYATI Asghar Hedayati is 40 year-old Iranian gay man who has been seeking asylum in Norway since 2003. He is one of many IRQR refugee cases who has not been very lucky so far, but he is still fighting for his right to remain in Norway as an asylum-eligible refugee. "I was waiting for good news, everyday for the last seven years," he says. "I was optimistic that I can start a normal life here in Norway. Unfortunately, it did not happen for me, I lost my hope, energy, happiness, and my future when I got negative answers from the Norwegian authorities. "There is no light in my future now but I never ever give up," Asghar said in a letter to Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees (IRQR). Asghar was in love with his boyfriend, Mr. J. [for security reason we can not publish his name] and they were very happy, but their happiness was shattered when Asghar's family forced him to get married. It was a very difficult time for Asghar and "J" as they could not 'come out' to their families, and Asghar did not have any reason to convince his family that he did not want to get married. Finally, he was forced to get married. "I did not love her, I did not like her, and she was not the right person at all," he says. "We lived together but we were together just at kitchen table. I could not stop thinking about [Mr. J] for a moment." After all the difficulties, he left Iran for Denmark and sought refugee status on basis of his sexual orientation. Unfortunately his asylum application was rejected by the Danish government, and he was scared to death because he did not want to be deported back to Iran. So he fled Denmark for Norway, where he applied for asylum. At that time, he did not imagine that one day he would be in the same situation again. He has now received a letter from the Norwegian government that he has to leave by January 25, 2010 and he does not know what will happen in the next few days. He has been told by the Norwegian authorities he can go back to Iran and "nothing will happen to you if you do not come out." "How it can be possible? Can they recommend it to Norwegians as well to just shut up and don't ask about your basic rights?" Asghar said. His life is now in grave danger, and the Norwegian government should grant him asylum because of the very real and horrific evidence that the lives of Iranian gays in the Islamic Republic are endangered because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. There is no doubt his life and safety will be at extreme risk should he be forcibly returned to Iran. Asghar Hedayati is in an unjust and intolerable situation and needs your urgent action. Please show your support by writing to the Norwegian government to urge them to grant refugee status to Asghar Hedayati. You may copy and paste the sample letters (below) into an email and send it to the email addresses provided below, or you may write your own letter in support of Asghar Hedayati. Please CC IRQR: info@irqr.net for tracking purposes. Thank you for your support. END UPDATE Please send your letters to: Mr. Knut Storberget Minister of Justice and the Police E-mail: postmottak@jd.dep.no Phone: Switchboard +47 22 24 90 90 Mailing address: Postboks 8005 Dep, 0030 Oslo, Norway & Immigration Appeals Board of Norway - Utlendingsnemnda Email: postmottak@une.no Telephone: +47 21 08 50 00 Mailing address: Utlendingsnemnda, Postboks 8165 dep. 0034 Oslo, Norway In addition, if you or your organization is interested in hosting an event to support Asghar Hedayat or interview him, please contact us at info@irqr.net as soon as possible. Thank you for your support. Please CC any emailed petition letters for tracking purposes to Arsham Parsi at info@irqr.net. SAMPLE LETTER WITH CONTACT INFORMATION Date: To: Minister of Justice and Police, Mr. Knut Storberget, postmottak@jd.dep.no Immigration Appeals Board of Norway, postmottak@une.no Norwegian Embassy of the United States: emb.washington@mfa.no Norwegian Foreign Ministry: post@mfa.no Her Excellency Else Berit Eikeland, Norwegian Ambassador to Canda: e-mail: ebe@mfa.no CC: IRQR, info@irqr.net Subject: Please Stop the Deportation of Mr. Asghar Hedayati, an Iranian LGBT Dear Minister, I am contacting you to request your assistance on a very urgent case involving Asghar Hedayati, a gay Iranian who is currently living in exile in Norway. I received some information about him through the Iranian Railroad for Queer Refugees based in Toronto, Canada. Asghar Hedayati is a citizen of Iran, with case number DUF 2003 046 114 08. He escaped Iran in 2003 because of his well-known fear of persecution on the basis of his sexual orientation. He applied for asylum in August 2003, but the Norwegian Government unfortunately denied his asylum status for several times and he is now at risk for deportation. The judge presiding over his asylum hearing said that he can live in Iran if does not 'come out', which is against the basic tenets of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression. I would like to express my deep concern about his situation, as he will experience imprisonment, torture, and even execution upon his forced return to Iran. I am urging you to reconsider Mr. Hedayati's case under the spirit of respect for human rights, and I am requesting that you grant Iranian queer refugees the full state of asylum in Norway because over whelming evidence that Iranian queers in the Islamic Republic are threatened with imprisonment, physical harm and even execution because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. Sincerely X END SAMPLE LETTER