by Crystal Allene Cook, Mar. 2, 2003

contact: c_allenecook@yahoo.com

One More Casualty in the War on Terror?

Although many of the more than 700 Middle Eastern men rounded up in December 2002 in California have been released, as of March 1, 2003 peace activist Alireza Ghazi Zahedi still sits in the Mira Loma Immigration and Naturalization Detention Center in Lancaster, CA. Married to an American citizen, Zahedi filed his paperwork in September 2002 for a change of status before the expiration of his I-94 and B1 visa expired and then appeared as requested at the INS office in San Bernardino for the Special Registration, begun after September 11. The Special Registration sets out that male nationals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, and Syria 16 years of age or older who entered the US before September 10, 2002 must register to be fingerprinted and photographed. Opponents of the registration liken it to the one that forced 120,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II and for which, some forty years later, President Reagan signed the Civil Liberties Act, granting each surviving internee a tax- free compensatory payment of $20,000 and an official letter of apology.

In Mr. Zahedi's case, having been informed he needed an interview to complete his I-765, Application for Work Authorization, he appeared at the INS in San Bernardino on December 23, 2002 at 1:30 PM. What would normally have been a routine interview for work authorization turned into a nightmare for the young Iranian citizen. He was arrested by INS authorities and shipped two hours from his residence, where he has been held ever since.

His father, Professor Mansour Ghazi, a resident of Virginia, has been working tirelessly for his son's release. Both the elder and younger Zahedi actively participate as representatives of the Peace Center of Iran to conferences held by the United Nations and have been especially involved in the International Association of Educators for World Peace, an NGO of both the United Nations' Economic Social Council and the United Nation's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and a part of the United Nations Department of Information. The International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAWEP)acts through education to protect the environment from air and water pollution and to help implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a strong emphasis on peace. According to Dr. Charles Mercieca, IAWEP's president, "Mr. Alireza Ghali Zahedi is a very good man and he is highly dedicated for the cause of peace. He is the kind of ideal citizen that our children may view as a model." In fact, Mr. Zahedi's father proudly pulls out letters confirming his son's activism: statements from the NGO Section of the Department of Public Information at the UN, invitations to events at the British Embassy in Tehran.

With evidence of compliance with INS regulations and letters of support from the international community, speculation leads to question: when other Middle Eastern immigrants have been released, why has Alireza Ghazi Zahedi's detention lasted so long? Could it be, as the American Immigration Lawyers Association has pointed out, the INS in some local offices, in this case, San Bernardino, CA are using the special registration procedure to identify and detain people who are on the path to permanent residence, but are "out of status," as in Mr. Zahedi's case, through no fault of his own? Or, as the United States gears up for more involvement around the world and the likelihood of military action in the Middle East increases, Mr. Zahedi's interest and proven record as a law-abiding peace activist make him suspect? In either case, his INS hearing March 3 at the Lancaster Immigration Court will bear out whether or not he will be released, free of guilt. Only history will let the United States and its people know if they, in his case, should be.

For more information on Zahedi's case, contact Pro. Mansour Ghazi Zahedi, (757) 399 5747

Alireza Ghazi Zahedi's booking number in Lancaster Detention Center: 7535162

Mira Loma Detention Center: (661) 949 3811

Lancaster Immigration Court: (661) 942 8683