Three Iranian Refugees Face Expulsion from Turkey ‘for Participating in Protest’
Three Iranian refugees face expulsion from Turkey after participating in demonstrations against Ankara’s withdrawal from the European Convention on “Protecting Women Against Violence.”
The Guardian newspaper identified the three as Leili Faraji, Zainab Sahafi, and Ismail Fattahi, reporting that they were detained after participating in a March protest in the city of Denizli in southern Turkey.
According to their defense lawyer, another Iranian citizen named Mohammad Pourakbari was also detained alongside the three others, despite not having participated in the aforementioned protest.
After their detention, the four were charged with “disrupting public order” and “participating in unlawful demonstrations.”
After the appeals court rejected the lower court’s ruling ordering their expulsion from Turkey, concerns about their possible premature expulsion from the country have increased.
Three of the four are in conditional refugee status, making their return to Iran illegal. However, according to their lawyer, “there is no indication” in the court’s ruling that this issue was taken into consideration.
According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the expulsion ruling was issued amid growing concerns about Turkey’s treatment of Iranian dissidents and refugees in Turkey, numbering at least 24,300 people.
It is estimated that 67,000 Iranian citizens live in Turkey, many of whom have fled to Turkey due to persecution by the Islamic Republic government or in pursuit of a better life.
Source: Radio Farda
