Emergency visa application by human rights activist Shilan Mirzaei

Shilan Mirzaei, a human rights activist and prisoner in Türkiye, applied for an emergency visa.

Shilan Mirzaei, a human rights and political activist living in Turkey, was arrested and transferred to a deportation camp for her activities against the Islamic Republic and defending the people of Iran. She is now in critical condition and Turkey has banned her from entering the country for five years.

After spending 36 days in the camp and being banned from making his situation public, he announced his situation by posting an audio file on Instagram on Thursday, November 30. In this audio file, he announced that he had been served with a ruling by the immigration police, which, based on Article 9 of the Law on International Protection of Foreigners No. 6458, as a result of the assessments made, the Immigration Department and the Governorship decided to implement a 5-year ban on his presence in Turkey.

The sentence served on Ms. Mirzaei includes a five-year ban on her presence in Turkey, but if she poses a serious threat to public security, this sentence will be increased to a ten-year ban.

Ms. Mirzaei says in this audio file: "Furthermore, this ruling states that due to the principle of the principles that led to the implementation of this ruling, the relevant matters have been initiated to cancel my residence and I have been given 60 days after the notification of this ruling to be able to express my objection in court through a lawyer. However, the ruling further states explicitly that even going to court to object to the aforementioned ruling will not stop the ruling banning me from entering and being in Turkey."

While when a normal refugee's application is rejected by the immigration police, he has the chance to receive protection and support from the court because it is possible that the court will again support the refugee. If this protection and support from the court is not given to the refugee and he returns to his country of origin, he will be banned from entering Turkey.

"As communicated to me in the ruling, while I am still in Turkish territory and the ruling banning my presence in Turkey for 5 years has been issued, and despite the sixty-day opportunity given in the ruling for me to object, it is openly a time frame for me to leave Turkey."

Shilan Mirzaei, referring to a supplementary ruling that was served on her, announced that with this supplementary ruling, the court's hands are completely tied in protecting her, and the only thing she has understood from the rulings is that they want to return her to Iran, while nothing is written in the ruling regarding Ms. Mirzaei's return to Iran, but their actions show this.

He continues: "They have banned me from reporting my case in the media for 36 days and I still do not have the right to report my situation to the media. But today, with this audio file, I want you to be my voice, because today they want to detain me, who is in Turkey as a refugee and not an asylum seeker, and my case is in the UN country section, and they do not have the legal right to detain me. Today, in order to legalize this detention, they have revoked my Kimlik."

During the days that I have been in the Deportee Camp prison, I have contacted the UN many times to follow up and transfer my case to a third country, but they refused to transfer my case to a third country. Even the UN consultants answered my questions about following up on my case with “we don’t know, we can’t answer.” They told me that I am not eligible to be transferred to a third country. Shame on the UN, whose duty is to protect freedom-loving people and to support freedom of expression, but here in Turkey, under the auspices of the UN, for defending my people and defending human rights violations in Iran, they are depriving me of my freedom of expression, imprisoning me, and issuing sentences to me that even the charges against me with the papers they claim don’t exist.

"I need an emergency visa to leave Turkey. I have been deprived of seeing my children for more than 36 days. I have two small sons, 5 and 7 years old. My 7-year-old son has been in shock since the day I was arrested and has not been going to school. My 5-year-old son was also present when I was arrested and has lost his speech due to the shock, and we are in a difficult situation."

While emphasizing that he only has 60 days to escape the criminal regime of the Islamic Republic, he asked all human rights activists, Iranians abroad, and the Iranian opposition for support and action to obtain an emergency visa and leave Turkey immediately.

It should be noted that not only the situation of human rights activists and political activists, but also many Christians who are present in Turkey as refugees, are in a precarious situation, and most of them are living in camps and at risk of deportation.