WIFE FEARS FOR HUNGER-STRIKING HUSBAND SIX WEEKS INTO PROTEST
▶ Vahid Beheshti, who fled to the UK from Iran after persecution, wants the IRGC proscribed
Marking their wedding anniversary outside Britain’s Foreign Office in central London was never what Vahid Beheshti and his wife Mattie Heaven could have imagined.
But almost six weeks into his hunger strike campaign, the occasion afforded them a rare moment of celebration.
Mr Beheshti, 45, a British-Iranian citizen who is urging the UK government to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, praised his wife for being his “main supporter” throughout his ordeal.
While ministers continue to resist his pleas to place the IRGC in the same category as Al Qaeda and ISIS, Mr Beheshti said he feels encouraged by some of the signs he has seen from politicians.
The couple spoke to The National about their shared passions for activism, human rights campaigning and their marital bond.
Mr Beheshti will today reach his 42nd day without food. His daily diet of coffee, water and sugar cubes has caused his weight to drop by 13kg and his energy to wane.
A picture Mr Beheshti shared on day 40 of his campaign shows him noticeably thinner compared to the smiling groom in his wedding day photos.
Despite the difficulty of watching her husband grow weaker by the day, Ms Heaven said they found a unique way to mark their “special day”.
“It’s quite emotional, in terms of I wasn’t thinking or expecting that we would be here in 40 days,” she said. “It’s really about how many days he’s been on hunger strike, rather than my anniversary day. It was our 15th [anniversary].”
Ms Heaven shared a photo of herself and her husband hugging and kissing. “We spent our special day opposite the Foreign Office calling on the UK government to proscribe the IRGC,” she said.
Mr Beheshti lauded his wife, whom he said has been his rock during the highs and lows of the campaign. He grew emotional as he recalled his “most unforgettable wedding anniversary.”
After fleeing his homeland 24 years ago to set up a new life in the UK, Mr Beheshti said his wife understands his reasons for resorting to such drastic action.
The journalist and campaigner was twice detained by the IRGC in his country and said he is outraged by the Iranian regime’s attempts to silence critics in Britain.
“I said to her, ‘we need to pay the price for what we have here and we are not going to let them come and take this away from us here in the heart of Europe’,” he said.
Iran has been behind 15 credible threats to kill or abduct British citizens or UK-based people since last year, Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said.
Ms Heaven, a Conservative councillor in Coventry, central England, admitted she was initially “shocked” by her husband’s idea to go on hunger strike, but swiftly put her fears to the side and threw herself behind his drive for change.
“I feel proud because I know he’s speaking for the people of Iran and here too,” Ms Heaven said with a smile.
As a fellow native of Iran, she fully understands his reasons.
While her husband continues to fast and campaign on the pavement outside the Foreign Office, Ms Heaven holds meetings with MPs to keep up the pressure for a proscription.
The couple, along with friends, feel threatened by the IRGC in the UK, she said.
“I hope the action is taken much sooner before we get to a stage that he’s physically, totally damaged,” Ms Heaven said.
“We see these people are now influencing here in this country and radicalising people. It’s very obvious and I feel quite strongly that we need to take action sooner.”
While his push for a proscription has yet to prove fruitful, Mr Beheshti said he has been encouraged by the signs he is seeing from UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s government.
“I think it’s great movement,” he said.
“I’m moving forward and by now, after 40 days, they understand I won’t go anywhere.”