ASYLUM SEEKERS IN SUNDERLAND PROTEST POLICE INACTION

Farid Hosefar, a 31-year-old Iranian refugee, who had been dispersed to a hostel in Sunderland by NASS, was attacked by two knife-wielding white racists on the evening of 15 March. As Farid returned from the city centre to his hostel he was set upon in an underground subway and stabbed several times. The unprovoked attack resulted in serious injuries to his arm and back, requiring forty eight stitches. Ten days earlier another asylum seeker residing in Sunderland had been the victim of a stabbing.

Asylum seekers who have been dispersed to the area - many of whom are accommodated at the large Park Avenue hostel - believe that the police do not take their safety seriously. A week after the attack on Farid, around fifty asylum seekers picketed Sunderland police station, demanding that proper protection be provided. Police officers, who agreed to meet a delegation of Farid's friends after the picket, claimed that Sunderland is one of the safest parts of England for asylum seekers. If they are right then the rest of the country is a very frightening place.

For more information, contact:
International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR)
PO Box 27236, London N11, England
Tel: +44 773 0107 337
Fax: +44 208 813 9734
E-mail: ifir@ukonline.co.uk
Web Site: www.hambastegi.org

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