Iranian agrees to media gag

Iranian overstayer Saied Ghanbari has been banned from talking to reporters if he wants to stay free while his future in New Zealand is decided.

Ghanbari surrendered to immigration officials on Wednesday. He had spent 18 months in hiding after several failed appeals to stay as a refugee.

During his time on the run, he was tracked down by news outlets while embarrassed immigration officials who could not find him told him through the media to give himself up.

On Wednesday, Ghanbari, whose 6-month-old child was born in New Zealand, was allowed to stay free rather than in custody while his future was determined, provided he reported regularly to the Immigration Service and did not talk to reporters.

His lawyer, Colin Amery, said he was happy with the ban but also very encouraged by the response he received from immigration officialsin Auckland yesterday.

"The humanitarian side of his case is being looked at."

Mr Amery said he might also use a House of Lords decision in England, which he had been told about but which he had yet to see, to help him argue the case for Ghanbari to stay.

Ghanbari has been in New Zealand for eight years but Mr Amery said that because he deserted from the Iranian Army during the war with Iraq in the 1980s he could face the death penalty if he returned to Iran.

If he were to face the death penalty, "then he doesn't leave here", said Mr Amery.

After talking to immigration officials in Auckland yesterday, the lawyer was confident of a fair hearing.

"They were extremely sympathetic. I was very pleased with the Immigration Service attitude in Auckland."

- NZPA