Last week, the Iranian Refugee Association in Birmingham held a picket in memory of Babak Ahadi, who took his life in July 2005 after his asylum claim was dismissed by the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal (IAT) in Sheldon, Birmingham.
Babak, 33, died in Frenchay hospital the day after he set himself alight at his NASS accommodation in Bristol, after hearing his asylum claim had been refused. He feared being deported to Iran because he had converted to Christianity and had been threatened with execution. At the inquest into his death, the coroner commented, ‘I have no doubt in my mind that the failed asylum application had dire results and was the prime cause of Mr Ahadi’s death.’
An Iranian who attended the picket told IRR News: ‘Babak is a victim of unjust immigration laws in the UK. He had just two options when he was refused asylum at Sheldon Court: torture and execution in Iran or suicide here. His suicide is really painful and shows the extremes to which a refused asylum seeker will go. Nobody can object or pursue his case because his family are in Iran.’
Related links
Indymedia news story – Commemorative Protest at Sheldon Immigration Court Birmingham
Indymedia news story – Iranian refugees remember Babak Ahadi at Sheldon Court
Read the IRR’s Factfile on the Roll call of deaths of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants, 2005 onward’s
Dowload the IRR’s report on the deaths of asylum seekers and undocumented migrants Driven to desperate measures (pdf file, 401kb)