> Is mass deportation of detained Iranians in INS jails a reality?
>
> Last year, I received a phone call from an attorney requesting me to
> send a copy of our publication "Pezhvak of Persia" to Hashem, an
> Iranian detained in a Sacramento INS jail, on a regular basis.
>
> Apparently this person came to the U.S. from Germany and applied for
> political asylum, not speaking English or knowing anyone in
> the U.S. Therefore, he needed Persian literature to read while he was
> spending time in jail. A few weeks later, I received a collect call
> from the Sacramento INS jail, and the operator asked me if I would
> accept the call, after responding yes, I heard someone speaking
> Persian who was very excited to talk to someone that speaks a common
> language. I thought he was Hashem, the same person that
> traveled to the U.S. from Germany, but this was not the case. He
> introduced himself as Kouroush and said he got my phone number
> from Hashem. He asked if we could send a copy of Pezhvak to him as
> well. I told him he is the second person requesting "Pezhvak" and asked
> why he is interested in receiving a copy of the publication.
> He said it is very difficult to spend time in jail not
> knowing your fate, or having any one to talk to. Having a Persian
> magazine in jail served as having an Iranian friend that could help
> pass the frightening and frustrating times of jail. I received more
> collect calls, now from Farhad and Hossein from the Bakersfield
> INS jail. Somehow these Iranians had contact with each other and got my
> phone number. They also had the same request of a copy
> of "Pezhvak". I continued receiving calls from these men,
> sometimes twice a week from Kouroush and Farhad. They had other
> requests like to call their public defenders and to tell them not to
> forget about them, to try to locate their relatives, or to talk to
> Iranian attorneys, and so on.
> Even though I have a busy schedule at work, I do not mind accepting
> their phone calls and talking to them. Looks like I am the only
> one that can patiently listen to them and willingly fulfill their
> requests.
>
> But all of sudden, for some reason, I stopped receiving phone calls. I
> began to wonder what happened to them and how come they
> were not calling any more. Then all the recent publications I mailed
> them came back to me with a note saying, "Return to sender,
> subject not in custody Sacramento CO. Main Jail" and "Return to sender
> Not in custody". This was very alarming, and I was
> concerned, so I began analyzing the situation. Then I received a phone
> call from Mr. Najeeb Hasan, Staff writer of Metro newspaper,
> who was trying to interview Kouroush. The day before he was scheduled to
>
> go to Sacramento to visit Kouroush, he called the INS
> jail to confirm his appointment, but he was told that Kouroush was moved
>
> to Arizona. He called me to see if I had any additional
> information about him. Upon gaining this new information, I began
> calling my contacts with Iranian attorneys that are following
> Iranian cases in INS, and I was further notified that they heard a rumor
>
> as well that INS has sent Iranians to Arizona for mass
> deportation.
>
> It appears that the INS had transferred all deport-able Iranians, from
> all over the United States, to its detention facility in Florence,
> Arizona to allow the representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran to
> interview them and issue travel documents, so the INS would
> be able to deport them to Iran!
> This news was confirmed when Kouroush called me again. He said he was
> moved to Arizona, and he had to speak with one of the
> Iranian officials, so they could get his information in order to issue
> him a travel document. He said there was between 60 to 70
> Iranians that came from all over the United States to Arizona to be
> interviewed by Iranian officials.
>
> Kouroush is back in California, and last time I talked to him he was in
> Urba city Jail.
> He was very concerned, he said, Mr. Taheri what do you think is going
> happen
> to me? Do you think that I am going to be deported? I do not want to go
> back, I will get in trouble with the Iranian government,
> please do something for me! I tried to calm him down, assuring him that
> I was going to do what ever I could.
>
> I remember that President Bush said in his latest speech about Iran,
> "In Iran we continue to see a government that represses its people,
> pursues
> weapons of mass destruction, and supports terror. We also see Iranian
> citizens risking intimidation and death as they speak out for
> liberty and human rights and democracy. Iranians like all people, have a
>
> right to choose their own government and determine their
> own destiny, and the United States supports their aspirations to live in
>
> freedom."
> It seems the U.S. government is aware of the
> political situation in Iran and is willing to support Iranian people's
> freedom.
> Ironically, some of those Iranians the INS is trying to
> deport came to U.S. because of the lack of freedom in Iran. Those
> Iranians are the ones who requested political asylum, like
> Kouroush, and now they are being sent back to Iran to quite
> possibly face intimidation, jail, or death, as Mr. Bush put it.
> It is not easy knowing what is going to happen to them, and doing
> nothing
> about it.
>
> Shahbaz Taheri
> Editor of "Pezhvak® of Persia"
> 04/06/03