This letter is from the lawyer of Sanan Ashrafi, an Iranian political activist (Hekmatist WPI) who had been

held under torture for 6 months by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The government of Sweden intends to deport Sanan on 1 July 2011 to Iran where he will face more detention and torture, and possibly execution. Translation to English follows.

TRANSLATION TO ENGLISH (translation by Ahmad Fatemi) Eva's Law Firm Stockholm 2nd February 2009 Migration Office Box 507 16929 Solna Claim on Case No 11-220571 Sanan Ashrafi I, in my capacity as lawyer of Sanan Ashrafi have the following claims. Claims First of all, I claim that Sanan Ashrafi has the right to asylum according to Article 4 Section 1 of the Migration Law. I also claim that Sanan Ashrafi has the right to protection according to Article 4 Section 2 of the Migration Law. Grounds Personal circumstances Sanan Ashrafi was born in 1985. He is a Kurd from Sanandaj. He has finished high school. He is a Sunni Muslim, but he considers himself an atheist. He speaks Kurdish Sorani and Farsi. He has been working in his father's television shop in Sanandaj. He is not married and he doesn't have children. He has two sisters who are also living in Iran, and no brothers. One of the sisters is married. The other one is not married and is living at home. He has not done military service, as it there was no need for him to do so. The family in Sweden include an uncle and an aunt who live in Stockholm. The aunt is a Swedish citizen but not the uncle. He doesn't have any other relatives in Europe. Reason for asylum The aunt's husband has been a political activist in Komala, and he was a Peshmarga. He himself has been active in the Iranian Workers-communist Party Hekmatist in Kurdistan. He has been active in the armed wing of the organization, which operates openly and is called Guard Azadi (Liberation Guard). He was introduced to the party in 2002 by a relative named Ali Mahmoudi. In the beginning, he was not a member, and his responsibilities were, for example, distributing flyers. After approximately 2 years, he was raised to the status of member; he started taking part in meetings and worked in recruiting new members to the party. The party had meetings once a month, and sometimes more. But he still continued distributing flyers and even worked as a courier. For example he delivered text to be printed and delivered messages to members about meetings, etc. because the party then could not rely on telephones and wireless communications for fear of wiretapping by the authorities. He was even involved in organizing and planning demonstrations.

In 2006, he was involved in organizing a demonstration in Sanandaj in Esteghlal Park. The demonstration was arranged in protest against the killing of a young boy by the name Shoana Ghader, who was tortured to death by Iranian police. In relation to this demonstration, Sanan Ashrafi was arrested and detained for 6 months. Security forces attacked the demonstration. Demonstrators were thrown into police vans. In the van that Sanan was taken away in, there were 8 other people; he couldn't see them, and he does not know where he was taken. When they were taken out of the van, they were handcuffed and blindfolded. They were taken to a location and were dispersed into different cells; each one was detained in a separate cell. He does not know what happened to the others. After approximately 8 hours, they began interrogations. He was again put in handcuffs and blindfolded. After this first time, he was interrogated 25 more times, and they tried to connect him to the Communist Party. They tried to force him to write a confession. He was tortured, and the torture was in the form of beatings against all parts of his body and kicks to his stomach and genitals. He was hung from his arms above his head. He received blows to his kidneys, and they hung weights from his testicles. Because he was so terribly tortured, he confessed to have contact with the party, but he denied he was a member - he said he only helped them. He told them that he couldn't become a member because he was not acquainted with any members, and that was a precondition. They (the security forces) claimed that they knew he has been in contact with various members. He acknowledged that he had met 2 members at a party, but they only talked a little bit and he had no knowledge at the time of their engagement in political activities. They were not close friends. At last, he was released after 6 months. When he was released, he told the two that he had confessed to meeting them under torture. It was later learned that another person from the party was arrested at that demonstration and released later. For a few months afterwards, Sanan did not take part in any party activities, partially because physically he was in bad condition because of the torture, and partially because he was scared of being under surveillance and arrested again. After approximately 3 months, he resumed attendance at meetings again, but he was much more careful. He did not try to enroll new members, and he tried to take precautions when he was going to attend a meeting by checking that he was not being followed. In Februrary 2008, Sanan took part in a demonstration outside the mosque in Sanandaj. The demonstration was about a boy who was killed. Police came, and then there was chaos. A policeman grabbed Sanan, but he fought himself free and ran away. Sanan had his motorcycle parked near the mosque. He threw himself on the motorcycle and drove away. A few policemen chased him in a car. In a roundabout, the policemen succeeded in hitting him and the motorcycle with their car. The motorcycle Sanan was riding slid across the asphalt on its side with his leg pinned beneath it. The police car also lost control and collided with another car. People gathered and shouted at the police. During this chaos, a man helped Sanan by putting him in a car; he wanted to drive him to the hopsital but Sanan told the man that he shouldn't go to the hospital because the police were after him. The man took Sanan to his own apartment. From there, he called a friend and asked him to contact his [Sanan's] parents and tell them what happened. One of Sanan's relatives came and picked him up,

after going to Sanan's parents' home and collecting some clothes for him. They decided to go from Sanandaj to Oroumieh. The relative had a good friend in Oroumieh. He called him and asked him to come and meet them. They traveled to Oroumieh the same night. The journey was very painful for Sanan. Sanan's mother had sent painkillers; these were medicines that the mother had been taking for her own illness. In Oroumieh, he did not dare to go to the hospital. The relative's good friend contacted a doctor he knew. This doctor has a private practice and worked at the hospital. He operated on Sanan and set his broken leg in a cast. He was forced to stay in Oroumieh because of the cast. He kept himself hidden partially because of the cast, and of course he was scared of being caught by the police. It took 4 months, and then the cast was taken off, but it was removed too early. Sanan then was informed that the police were seeking him - first, the ordinary police, and then the case was handed over to the security forces (Information Ministry). They [went to Sanans home]; they wore civilian clothes and showed their ID card. They took a computer, a photo album, CDs, paper, and his passport. Sanan understood then that he was going to be arrested if he returned to Sanandaj. He also understood that there was a warrant out against him [the authorities were actively looking for him]. His father sent money so that Sanan could leave the country. He had his shenas nameh (national ID card) with him in Oroumieh. He left that with his relative before he left the country. With the help of smugglers, he crossed the border to Turkey, and from there to Stockholm. To prove his identity he gives to the court his shenas nameh and a translation of the card. Eva Haddadi