Torture Victim

I am proud that I have in the basement of my house with an organisation works for illegal immigrants and torture victims. I have just received this e-mail from another organisation, see what you can do.

Dear Father Ray,

Is there any chance you could bring the case of Sayed Parnian to the attention of your readers? An appeal for him is being run by Brighton Unemployed Workers Centre, which has kickstarted it with a donation of £200. The details of the torture inflicted on him and his wife sound horrific; the experience drove him to make an attempt on his own life this summer.

Best wishes,


Maria.

Seyed Parnian Torture Care Appeal
For Mr Seyed Parnian from Iran
To pay for care from the Medical Foundation
working with victims of torture
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Dear friends and colleagues,
I am writing to you in the hope that you will respond to the situation of Mr Seyed Parnian, an Iranian who has been in the UK as an asylum seeker since 5th April 2006.
Up to 2006, Mr Parnian was working in the family business of importing and exporting heavy machinery. He was successful enough to travel freely all over Europe to do his job. In April 2006, he was in the process of leaving the UK from Gatwick airport when he received a call from his family telling him at all costs not to get on a flight back home, as his house had been searched by the Secret Service. Mr Seyed was charged in his absence with having ‘illegal’ books and his wife was arrested.
Mr Parnian had had a personal dispute nine years previously (1996) with man from one of the Iranian Secret Service organisations and whose family wielded huge power in Iran. In the process of the battle through the Iranian courts, Mr Parnian was imprisoned twice. He was badly tortured, being repeatedly hung upside down and beaten, his teeth smashed out and many more terrible experiences too degrading to put into words. From this period, he was continually harassed, prior to claiming asylum in the UK.
After the Home Office judges refused Mr Parnian asylum, further supporting evidence was gathered and his fresh claim submitted. However, in the time between his first UK trial and his fresh claim (new request for asylum), the very thing that Seyed feared happened. His wife was picked up for the fourth time by the Secret Services in Iran. She was imprisoned, where she was viciously attacked and traumatised, receiving amongst other injuries, a broken nose and bad bruising. She needed immediate hospital treatment upon her release in November 2009.
As a result of his wife’s trauma and his inability to protect his family, Mr Parnian became mentally unstable. He attempted suicide by taking an overdose on June 22nd 2008. He was resuscitated in hospital and a nurse aware of the Medical Foundation alerted a local member to his situation. Seyed’s constant source of fear is that he cannot protect his family and maybe will never see his wife and children again. He suffers from flash backs of the time when he was tortured by the authorities and is in continual physical pain - a symptom very typical of some torture victims.
Mr Parnian has support from individuals within Brighton and Hove and organisations in Sussex. If you are able to donate any amount towards his treatment and towards the production on a Medical Legal Assessment to legally substantiate the story of his torture, could you please forward any donations to the fund we have set up at the following address.
Any amount however small is gratefully received.
It costs £650 for a Medical Legal Assessment to be written, following interviews with specialist doctors
It costs approximately £2,000 for a course of treatment at the Medical Foundation.
Any funds in excess will be donated to the Medical Foundation for the care of victims of torture.
With thanks

Jo Smith (friend and supporter)
Please follow the link below to find out more about the Medical Foundation.
www.torturecare.org.uk



Cheques payable to … (Brighton Unemployed Workers Centre)
Please send to:
Brighton & Hove Unemployed Workers Appeal
4 Crestway Parade,
The Crestway
Brighton
BN1 7BL