Well, knock me down with a feather. Thomas Yadegary has been released from prison after 2 years and 5 months. The Wheels of Justice turn slowly, but they turn. His story makes grim reading. I wrote about this earlier at Sir Humphrey's - reprinted below just for those that missed the backgrounder (and, ahem, to fill the new blog up):
The light was weak, and barely lit the small cell. Shadows played over the hard lines of the sparse furniture: a wooden table set between two steel chairs. On the table was a single page document and a pen. In one chair, Yadegary, staring down at the letter he was required to sign.
Signing it would be a lie. He put the pen down.
"I cannot" he said simply.
"Cannot, or will not?" said the immigration officer. "My patience is wearing thin" he continued, softly, with an edge to his voice Yadegary knew well. "Listen, Mr Yadegary, we've been very nice to you for the past two years. We've fed you. We've let you use the exercise yard. And this is how you repay us?"
"To sign this is to die. I will not suicide."
"This is the only way we can help you Yadegary. You are not in Iran now. This is New Zealand. In New Zealand we have certain rules. We have regulations. We have standards. We have particular ways of doing things."
"I am a Christian now. I am not a Muslim. I am not radical. You must believe me" said Yadegary, although he knew it would do no good.
"Christian? That is not enough. That is not nearly enough. We send Christians back to Iran. Or we would, if you just accepted our first offer. But you didn't. You've made trouble for us. You are wasting tax payers money. Do you know what the average Kiwi thinks of Christian bludgers?"
"That cannot be true. Let me go. I will work. I will prove myself. I will give the government thrice the tithe rate"
"Thrice 10%? Don't make me laugh. We already charge that in tax anyway. Then there's GST, rates, petrol tax, ACC and hundreds more. Don't worry on that score Yadegary, we get our pound of flesh. But first, you must sign this document, and then we can help you."
"It would be a lie"
"Just a little lie. We don't mind little lies. You can make as many as you like. They will not harm you. Listen - I will not persecute Christians. See? Easy. Now you try. Tell me. Write it down. Sign it. A little lie and then you are free. A kiwi. A respected member of society. That's what you want isn't it? Read this story of Ahmad, and then sign this document. It's truly inspirational Yadegary:
Convert to Gay or Die
And if you don't. Then I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to sign your death warrant:
Iranian refuses to sign death warrant
Hattip: Andrei at TBR: A tale of Two Iranian Refugees
Related Link: Yadegary Released
The light was weak, and barely lit the small cell. Shadows played over the hard lines of the sparse furniture: a wooden table set between two steel chairs. On the table was a single page document and a pen. In one chair, Yadegary, staring down at the letter he was required to sign.
Signing it would be a lie. He put the pen down.
"I cannot" he said simply.
"Cannot, or will not?" said the immigration officer. "My patience is wearing thin" he continued, softly, with an edge to his voice Yadegary knew well. "Listen, Mr Yadegary, we've been very nice to you for the past two years. We've fed you. We've let you use the exercise yard. And this is how you repay us?"
"To sign this is to die. I will not suicide."
"This is the only way we can help you Yadegary. You are not in Iran now. This is New Zealand. In New Zealand we have certain rules. We have regulations. We have standards. We have particular ways of doing things."
"I am a Christian now. I am not a Muslim. I am not radical. You must believe me" said Yadegary, although he knew it would do no good.
"Christian? That is not enough. That is not nearly enough. We send Christians back to Iran. Or we would, if you just accepted our first offer. But you didn't. You've made trouble for us. You are wasting tax payers money. Do you know what the average Kiwi thinks of Christian bludgers?"
"That cannot be true. Let me go. I will work. I will prove myself. I will give the government thrice the tithe rate"
"Thrice 10%? Don't make me laugh. We already charge that in tax anyway. Then there's GST, rates, petrol tax, ACC and hundreds more. Don't worry on that score Yadegary, we get our pound of flesh. But first, you must sign this document, and then we can help you."
"It would be a lie"
"Just a little lie. We don't mind little lies. You can make as many as you like. They will not harm you. Listen - I will not persecute Christians. See? Easy. Now you try. Tell me. Write it down. Sign it. A little lie and then you are free. A kiwi. A respected member of society. That's what you want isn't it? Read this story of Ahmad, and then sign this document. It's truly inspirational Yadegary:
Convert to Gay or Die
And if you don't. Then I'm afraid we'll have to ask you to sign your death warrant:
Iranian refuses to sign death warrant
Hattip: Andrei at TBR: A tale of Two Iranian Refugees
Related Link: Yadegary Released
Comments
Post a Comment
Please be respectful. Foul language and personal attacks may get your comment deleted without warning. Contact us if your comment doesn't appear - the spam filter may have grabbed it.