KEY POINTS:
The Anglican Archbishop of New Zealand is pleading with the immigration minister to cancel the deportation order being served on an Iranian asylum-seeker but David Cunliffe is unmoved.
Ali Panah is in his 53rd day of a hunger strike.
He claims he has been sentenced to death in Iran for converting to Christianity while he was in South Korea.
Archbishop David Moxon visited Mr Panah yesterday and says he is deteriorating fast.
He said it was about time Mr Cunliffe acknowledged the serious risk of sending Panah back to Iran.
"He's facing probable death if he returns to Iran. People who have been through that kind of conversion are very vulnerable indeed."
The Archbishop said even the United Nations has made it clear it is concerned about the safety of freedom of religious expression in Iran.
However, Immigration Minister, David Cunliffe said Mr Panah has had access to a full range of legal options and appeals, but has failed at every step.
He said as much as one might feel compassion, Mr Panah has options other than returning to Iran, should he choose to accept them.
Mr Panah was refused refugee status when he applied and had been held at Auckland Remand Prison at Mt Eden because of his refusal to sign papers to allow his deportation.
He was moved to Auckland Hospital last week due to his deteriorating health following his refusal to take solid foods. He had started accepting liquid mineral supplements on the advice of his doctors but has stopped taking those.
Green MP Keith Locke is seeking cross party support to put pressure on the Government to release Mr Panah.
He has written to political parties seeking their support - National say they don't have full details of the case and others are yet to respond.
Mr Locke told Radio New Zealand he hoped MPs would rise to the challenge.
"I hope they take account of the big support from the Christian churches," he said.
"I have confidence in other parties that they will respond to the humanitarian reality of this chap who has done nothing wrong, never committed any crime, would be a good resident here in New Zealand."
He did not think the Government would allow Mr Panah to die and urged it to give Mr Panah a temporary visa while his case was considered again.
"He's been in jail for 20 months ... and he could be there forever basically."
Seven protestors were arrested over the weekend after chaining themselves to a flagpole at the Mt Eden Remand Prison.
- NEWSTALK ZB, NZPA
