AN Iranian Kurdish refugee who stitched up his eyes, lips and ears in protest at the Home Office's handling of his asylum application, said yesterday he was prepared to give his life for the human rights of others around the world.

Abbas Amini, 33, began a hunger strike last Tuesday after hearing the Government was seeking a judicial review of the decision to grant him asylum in the UK.

The father-of-two, an atheist who was jailed in Iran for writing poems criticising the ruling Islamic regime, claims he will face torture if he is sent back to his home country.

Friends and supporters said his symbolic stance was to highlight the plight of asylum seekers and refugees fleeing torture and oppression, as well as the problems they face when applying for residence status in Britain.

Mr Amini fled Iran and arrived in the UK in August 2001, leaving his wife and two boys, aged three and five, at home.

He had previously been involved in politics as a member of the Workers Communist Party of Iran, opposing the ruling regime in the capital, Tehran - which led to several spells in prison totalling seven years.