Pastor stands by fugitive Iranian

The pastor of an Iranian woman facing deportation is hitting back at criticism levelled at her in Parliament.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has used parliamentary privilege to attack Birkenhead resident Bahareh Moradi.

He told Parliament Ms Moradi arrived in New Zealand using fictitious passports arranged by her brother in Asia.

Ms Moradi’s brother had smuggled three other family members into New Zealand, he said.

The three had all now been given refugee status in New Zealand.

"Why is she still in New Zealand?" Mr Peters asked.

Immigration Minister Clayton Cosgrove said Miss Moradi had gone into hiding in Auckland, possibly in the Iranian community.

She is being pursued by immigration officials charged with enforcing orders to deport her.

Miss Moradi’s pastor Rinny Westra says he does not know if Miss Moradi has gone into hiding.

If she has, it was because she feared for her life should she be deported back to Iran, he says.

He has testified to her Christian conversion and says any attempts to question it are wrong.

Converting from Islam to Christianity is considered a sin in Iran and punishment can range from social exclusion to torture.

"She’s just scared. What else can she do? Handing herself into the police would be like going into the lion’s den.

"What I’ve observed over two to three years is her regular attendance at church, public professions of faith and interest and diligent study of the Bible.

"You could say it is fictitious, but if it is it’s a very, very sustained fiction."

Mr Peters’ criticism of Miss Moradi is more to do with politics than facts and genuine concern, he says.

The New Zealand First Party recently issued statements opposing high levels of Asian immigration and has maintained a tough stance on refugees.

"It’s electioneering and he lacks credibility on this issue," Mr Westra says.

"The fact is that with refugee cases there’s always something in the background that doesn’t look right."

Miss Moradi’s brother Hamid is one of three Moradi siblings with refugee status in New Zealand.

He would not comment on whether Miss Moradi was in hiding but rejected Mr Peters’ assertion his brother in Asia is a people smuggler.

Miss Moradi was first turned down for refugee status in 2006 and an appeal of that decision to the Refugee Status Appeals Authority was rejected in 2007.

Immigration papers have revealed the authority did not accept Miss Moradi risked persecution if she returned to Iran.

The authority also expressed doubts about her conversion to Christianity.

Miss Moradi recently lost a last-ditch attempt to stay in New Zealand when Associate Immigration Minister Shane Jones rejected her appeal.

- © Fairfax NZ News