‘Artemis Ghasemzadeh’: I Sought Asylum in America but No Interview Was Conducted for My Asylum Request

Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a Christian citizen, said: I sought asylum in America but no interview was conducted for my asylum request.

Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a Christian citizen who recently became a refugee in the United States, recounts her conversion to Christianity, her escape from Iran, arrival in America, and subsequent detention and transfer to Panama. In an interview with the New York Times, she discusses the challenges and secret life she lived in Iran as well as the difficulties of the migrant camp in Panama.

She explains her Christian life as follows: “The first time I entered a church was during a trip to Turkey. I felt something strange, so much so that I bought a small Bible and hid it among my clothes, bringing it back to Isfahan with great difficulty. My faith in Jesus Christ took shape between 2019 and 2022 through house church meetings and online teachings, but I never dared to speak about my faith in Jesus Christ to my religious family.”

Three years ago I was baptized and experienced rebirth. Converting to Christianity was very dangerous for me because Christian converts in Iran face severe persecution. After some time, several members of the house church I was part of were arrested. For this reason, I decided to leave Iran and go to America.”

She speaks about her faith in Jesus Christ and the feelings she has, as well as about house churches in Iran: “Christianity is very attractive because it is full of love and peace, and its rules are not as strict as Islam. The house churches I attended held meetings with strict caution. Members received messages to enter these meetings that were only visible once, and the location of the meetings constantly changed. My older brother Shahin, who is 32 years old, also converted to Jesus Christ.”

Artemis returns to 2022 and continues by referencing the nationwide uprising: “In 2022, with the death of Mahsa Amini in a Guidance Patrol detention center, an uprising led by women began, in which I also participated to some extent in the protests and chanted ‘Woman, Life, Freedom.’ Like many Iranian women and girls, I removed my hijab as a sign of protest and freely displayed my hair. The government sent me multiple messages and summoned me to court, but I refused to appear.”

She spoke of her journey to America after leaving Iran: “In December 2024, I left Iran with my brother Shahin heading to the United States. We were aware of the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies, but we thought these policies only targeted criminals and offenders.

We first went to Abu Dhabi and then to South Korea and finally reached Mexico City. There, after extensive searching, we found a smuggler who, in exchange for three thousand dollars per person, took us by boat to Tijuana. In Tijuana, he took us at night to a border point, pointed to a ladder, and said: Go. Climb over the wall and move quickly.” I remember when my feet touched American soil I cried and told Shahin it’s over, we finally made it.”

Artemis stated that this joy was short-lived and minutes later border agents arrived and arrested them, transferring them to a detention center, but she was separated from her brother Shahin. She said that since then she has not seen her brother Shahin or spoken to him, but her mother informed her that Shahin has been transferred to a facility in Texas where he is being held.

She continued her statement: “I repeatedly told the authorities that I am an Iranian Christian convert who sought asylum in America, but they never conducted an interview about my asylum request and finally on February 12, which happened to be my 27th birthday, they bound my hands and deported me to Panama on a military plane. On the plane I met 9 other Iranians who were also Christian converts and who had almost similar stories. We were held for about a week in a hotel under the watch of armed guards.”

The New York Times, which has been in daily contact with Artemis since her arrival in Panama, said: “Artemis recorded a video of her and her companions’ dire conditions and shared it with Persian-language news networks outside of Iran, and this video gained widespread attention on social media.”

Artemis and some of her companions refused to sign documents related to their return to Iran, and as a result of this disagreement to return, they were put on buses and sent to a camp in the jungle. Artemis is one of the people represented by Ali Harischchi, a federal court lawyer, who takes their case pro bono. Ali Harischchi stated in his remarks that his main priority is to prevent their return to Iran. He said: “We are asking the US authorities to change their policies and allow this group to re-enter America.”

Artemis spoke about the camp to which they were transferred: “This jungle camp is like a large cage and has very harsh conditions. My hands are swollen and red due to mosquito bites and an 11-year-old Iranian child also fell and injured his ankle, and the camp doctor told the child’s parents that an X-ray machine is not available to diagnose bone fractures.”

Artemis has a small notebook in which she writes sentences every night. On one of the pages of this notebook, addressing Jesus Christ next to which she has drawn a small red heart, she wrote: “I’m sure you hear my voice from up there, so please help.”