Instructions: Please print out and sign the below letter or your own version of a letter with the same demands and fax to the Swedish Migration Authority numbers provided below. (download print-friendly pdf)
To: Swedish Migration Authorities
Date: April 14, 2011
RE: Illegal Refoulement from Sweden to Iran: Mohammad Mehhdi Maleki, case no. 10983677
I am writing to you out of great concern for an asylum-seeker you have arrested with the intent of deporting, Mohammad Mehdi Maleki. Mr. Maleki is a known political rights activist and opponent of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He was imprisoned and tortured by the Islamic Republic because of his political views and activism. Once his family finally managed to arranged his release on bail from political imprisonment, Mr. Maleki fled Iran and applied for asylum in Sweden.
Once in Sweden, Mr. Maleki continued to participate in protests against the Islamic Republic; he was regularly present at demonstrations against the stoning of Sakineh Ashtiani in 2010, and more recently, he protested against the execution of prisoners in Iran, and illegal refoulements of Iranian refugees. All of these demonstrations have been fully documented and published online; there is no question whatsoever that should Mr. Maleki be illegally refouled to Iran, he will be immediately imprisoned and tortured if not worse on that basis alone.
Furthermore, Mr. Maleki has converted from Islam to Christianity. Under the Islamic Republic’s regime, this is called “apostasy” and it carries a sentence of death. The Islamic Republic is actively pursuing a well-documented campaign of persecution against Christians in Iran, including beatings, imprisonment, indefinite detention, and imposition of the death sentence against Christians.
We do not have to look far to find an example of what happens to Iranian asylum seekers who are illegally refouled to Iran. On February 9, 2011, the Norwegian government sent 19-year-old Rahim Rostami, an Iranian political asylum-seeker, back to Iran. By March 23, 2011, the news reached the international community that the Islamic Republic had immediately arrested teen-aged Rahimi and is detaining him in Evin Prison. The Islamic Republic has clearly stated its intention to prosecute anyone who leaves Iran and propagates against the regime, and it is making good on its promises.
The European Court of Human Rights has already censured the Swedish government for its illegal attempts to refoule refugees to their home countries where their lives are threatened. The Swedish government must immediately cease its inhuman violations of the rights of asylum-seekers.
We demand that Mr. Maleki’s deportation order be immediately canceled, his case reviewed, and if necessary, that he be supplied with competent legal representation. He clearly meets the criteria for obtaining refugee status; anything otherwise is illegal under international law.
Sincerely,
[your name]
cc:
UNHCR-Sweden: swest@unhcr.org
International Organization for Migration: hq@iom.int
Amnesty International Refugee Officer-Sweden: nadia.yousri@amnesty.se
President of the European Union: jerzy.buzek@europarl.europa.eu
International Committee of the Red Cross: dkrimitsas@icrc.org
Fax Numbers (country code +46):
Flen
Asylprövningsenheten
Box 209
642 23 Flen
Fax: 010-485 09 96
Flen
Förvaret
Box 209
642 23 Flen
Fax: 010-485 20 30
Flen
Mottagningsenheten
Box 209
642 23 Flen
Fax: 010-485 08 44
Göteborg
Asylprövningsenheten
Dublinenheten
428 80 Kållered
Fax: 031-795 53 30
Göteborg
Förvaltningsprocess
428 80 Kållered
Fax: 031-795 53 30
Göteborg
Förvaret
428 80 Kållered
Fax: 010-485 12 64, 010-485 12 82
Solna
Asylprövningsenheten
Dublinenheten
Ansökningsenheten
Box 507
169 29 Solna
Fax: 08-27 44 48
Solna
Förvaltningsprocessenheterna
Box 507
169 29 Solna
Fax: 08-27 44 48
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