A GRIEVING father who has likened his distraught family to the ‘living dead’ is fighting to get one of his son’s killers back behind bars.

Arash Ghorbani-Zarin was brutally murdered in Rose Hill in 2004 by three attackers who stabbed him 46 times – but two of them have already been allowed parole.

Chomir Ali and his sons Mohammed Mujibar Rahman and Mamnoor Rahman, who were both teenagers at the time, were sentenced to life after murdering the 19-year-old Oxford Brookes student in an 'honour killing.'

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Mr Ghorbani-Zarin had fallen for Ali’s daughter Manna Begum and got her pregnant, so Ali recruited his sons to help ambush the youngster in his car.

Mohammed Rahman was transferred to an open prison in November, despite having served just 14 years of his 16-year minimum jail term.

Oxford Mail:

Arash's parents pictured in 2005. Pic: INS

His younger brother had already been transferred to open conditions, after serving his 14-year minimum term, but their father was sentenced to 20 years minimum and remains in a closed prison.

Arash’s father Raheem Ghorbani-Zarin is now lobbying the Parole Board and justice minister to overturn their decision to transfer Mohammed Rahman, stating they had ‘violated’ the sentence imposed on him by an Oxford Crown Court judge in 2005.

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The 63-year-old, who lives with his wife near Oxford, said: “Even though it's been more than 14 years that he's been gone, I can remember it like yesterday. It breaks my heart.

“He was my son, my clever boy, and they took him away from me.

“They didn't just kill one person, they killed six people, our whole family. We are like the living dead. We can't move on.”

Oxford Mail:

Arash was survived by his parents and his two brothers and two sisters, and his dad said his killers are ‘treating the law like a toy.’

The business owner said: “These criminals come in and out [of prison] and get help to be educated and get a job and rebuild.

“We didn't get any help. They give everything to them but we are the innocent ones.”

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He said the trio are yet to admit their guilt or apologise.

Mr Ghorbani-Zarin said: “They don’t think they have done anything wrong.

“If they had learnt their lesson, they would say sorry, but to this day they have not admitted it.”

Oxford Mail:

Arash's dad pictured in 2005. Pic: INS

The father described the pain of his son’s murder as ‘horrendous.’

He said: “He was a part of my life, my body, my brain; it's physical love that has gone. [The grief] affects some families so bad they end up killing themselves.

“That didn't happen to us, we managed to pull ourselves out of this mess, but there is no end to the devastation.”

He said it was an injustice that the prisoners got help rebuilding their lives, while his family had been left ‘crippled in every aspect of life.’

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He added: “Nobody has knocked on my door all these years to offer help.

“Even the NHS counselling was limited to six-eight weeks, then they said we would have to start paying.”

The Parole Board considers if prisoners are suitable for open prison conditions and passes a recommendation to the justice minister, who has the final say.

Open prisons have minimal security and few restrictions on prisoners’ movements – they are allowed to leave for certain reasons such as employment and are trusted to return.

Oxford Mail:

In a letter to Oxford West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran, who passed on Mr Ghorbani-Zarin’s concerns, justice minister Rory Stewart admitted the murder was ‘senseless and brutal.’

He added: “I know it must be very difficult for victims to accept, but placing a prisoner in less stringent conditions allows for them to be gradually tested and monitored.

“I hope I can offer some reassurance that a move to open conditions does not mean that the prisoner’s eventual release is guaranteed.”

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Mr Ghorbani-Zarin sent a letter to the Parole Board urging it to reconsider its recommendation, writing: “Me and my family have been through massive depression, such that we were on the verge of destruction.

“All we are asking for is justice to be done, which would be for the parole for open prison to be after the minimum sentence has been served.”

The Parole Board’s recommendation letter said Rahman had ‘improved respect and tolerance for others’ views’ and ‘the ability to reject his previous distorted thinking.’

Oxford Mail:

It said he had ‘a positive attitude towards education and vocational skills’ and had adopted a ‘changed outlook’ despite still not admitting his crime.

A Parole Board spokesperson said the board would only come to such a conclusion if ‘the prisoner's risk to the public has reduced sufficiently to be manageable in an open prison.’

Mr Ghorbani-Zarin said his family will continue to write to ministers and MPs, urging them to reconsider.