RR Watch -Ann Corcoran - Iranian refugee in Sydney: Had Problem With the “Revealing Garments” of Australian Women
A distressingly large number of sexual assault cases have been coming up in my internet news searches. The perpetrators are mostly Muslim Middle Eastern men. Some are refugees or asylum seekers. Some are well educated. However, all appear incapable of adapting to our Western society and mores. These men, in committing their crimes, may be acting on impulses rooted within their own religion and culture and upbringing – and doing irreparable harm to our citizens. Here is one such case.
In the Islamic Republic of Iran women must be covered by law. Even in the middle of summer, women wear the jet black veil called the chador in order to “protect” themselves from attack by lustful males. Uncovered Western women are portrayed as whores. Such was the society where Amir Mohebbifar, age 27, was raised. His name in Persian has a nice and pleasant meaning: “Prince of the Lover’s Light”. However, his behavior once he reached Sydney, Australia, was horrid and despicable.
Mohebbifar left Iran purportedly out of concern for himself and his girlfriend. Although he was university educated and came from a middle class family, the girl’s parents did not approve of their relationship, and he was afraid they would harm her or him. He left the girlfriend behind and joined the flood of other migrants who were traveling to Australia on smuggling boats. He arrived to Australia’s Christmas Island in March of 2013 and received a bridging visa. [At that time – not having had enough experience with Middle Eastern asylum seekers – Australia was still handing out “bridging visas”, or temporary permission to stay in the country, to migrants who arrived by boat. The practice has since been stopped.]
In Australia, Mohebbifar was increasingly out of his element. Frustrated and bored, he felt excluded, depressed and socially isolated since he did not know, and could not know, how to make friends in Australian society. He also had issues with the way Australian women dressed.
Last January (it was summer in Australia), Mohebbifar, having finished most of a bottle of whiskey, saw a 19-year-old woman headed home late at night on a pathway leading to Sydney’s Anzac Bridge. He approached her in his drunken state and asked, “Hi, are you walking home?” The young woman refused to make eye contact and walked fast to try and remove herself from the situation. She thought she had lost him, when she heard footsteps as he ran up to her and grabbed her. He then attacked her and dragged her off the path and into the bushes, where he sexually assaulted her while she was kicking and screaming and fighting and biting him. His attack lasted some 20 minutes when he suddenly stopped and started walking away. The girl called triple-zero (the equivalent to our 911) and he ran. Police arrived and, using CCTV footage, located Mohebbifar hiding under a car and sweating profusely.
Last July, Mohebbifar pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual assault. The charges of sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault were withdrawn. [What??] Sentencing was last week.
Mohebbifar told the court he had found it difficult to “adjust” to Australian women’s “revealing garments” but had been taught to “respect people”. In sentencing him, Judge Donna Woodburne said Mohebbifar had preyed on a vulnerable young woman who was simply trying to get home. “To be accosted, seized and dragged off the street by a complete stranger must have been terrifying.” She added, “She was doing nothing more than peacefully going about her business walking along public streets to go home.” “There’s a gap between the concern he felt for his Iranian girlfriend and the utter lack of concern he felt for the welfare, safety and security of his 19-year-old victim,” the judge said.
Mohebbifar trembled and cried throughout the sentencing. He was sentenced to a maximum term of eight years, and will be eligible for parole in January 2020.
He should never have left Iran! ...
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