Cunliffe And PM Take Questions On Ali Panah

Monday, 3 September 2007, 7:27 pm
Article: Kevin List

Immigration Minister And PM Take Questions On Ali Panah

Iranian asylum seeker Ali Reza Panah has been released into the care of the Anglican Church following a 53 day hunger strike.

Mr Panah has been held in Auckland Central Remand prison for more than a year and a half after failing in his bid to gain refugee status in New Zealand. Mr Panah is a Muslim convert to Christianity, namely the Anglican faith, and is fearful of being persecuted should he return to Iran.

Since 1999, the US Secretary of State has designated Iran as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act for particularly severe violations of religious freedom.

When this information was presented to the Immigration Minister David Cunliffe by Scoop Media at a press conference this afternoon the Minister replied that he understood the 'Iranians and the Americans aren't getting on too well at the moment.'

"What I can say is that the UN High Commission on Refugees has not issued a formal advisory against repatriating deportees to Iran. They have done that for several other countries notably Zimbabwe and we do take considerable cognisance of the UNHCR's views," said Mr Cunliffe.

The US Secretary of State's most recent International Religious Freedom Report
points out that in Iran 'conversion of a Muslim to a non-Muslim religion is considered apostasy under the law and is punishable by the death penalty' although the report later goes on to say that it 'was unclear whether this punishment had been enforced in recent years.

"The experience of other countries, like NZ, is that there has been no reported case of a deportee being killed or severely persecuted on return to Iran. We are obviously checking to make sure that information is up to date and we will be checking to make sure that the UNHCR advice is current," explained the Minister when it was pointed out the death penalty was on the books in Iran for apostasy.

Mr Cunliffe explained to the media that his office had been in contact with various representatives of the Iranian Government regarding overcoming an impasse whereby Iran refuses to accept Iranian citizens from New Zealand unless they sign travel documents. Mr Panah after failing to convince the New Zealand authorities that he was a bona fide refugee has refused to sign such a document hence he has been incarcerated until today for 20 months.

When asked if he had asked the Iranian authorities if it was safe for people such as Mr Panah to return to Iran the Minister explained that the discussions he had been involved in had not concerned individual cases.

Until his case is resolved by either his being deported back to Iran or succeeding in a final appeal Mr Panah is not permitted to work in New Zealand and is eligible for no forms of state subsidy. This means that it will be considerably cheaper for the NZ Government now that the Anglican Church is picking up the tab for Mr Panah's care.

The Prime Minister also took the time at her regular post cabinet media conference to take a few questions on Mr Panah and his case.

"The expectation is that if you fail in all the legal processes that you depart New Zealand in due course," said the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister also reiterated the difficulty involved in getting rid of Iranians who refuse to sign travel documents. According to the Prime Minister there was an on-going process involving creating a 'memorandum of understanding' with the Iranian Government on immigration matters.

Mr Cunliffe also urged Mr Panah's supporter's to release all the information relating to Mr Panah's case and implied all was not as it seemed. However a number of Mr Panah's supporters are members of the Anglican community and seem assured that Mr Panah is a man of genuine Christian faith.

Anglican Archbishop David Moxon emerged from a prison visit to Mr Panah declaring he is fully persuaded of the genuineness of the Iranian asylum seeker’s Christian faith. Mr Cunliffe is from an Anglican background himself his father was a 'man of the cloth'. Scoop Media understands Mr Cunliffe has himself not met Mr Panah.

Listen to the Immigration Minister David Cunliffe discuss events concerning Iranian Ali Panah

Listen to the Prime Minister discuss events concerning Iranian Ali Panah

ENDS

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