An Iranian journalist, who was forced to flee the Islamic republic five years ago and found unlikely refuge in Israel, is facing deportation after being denied asylum.
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Neda Amin – a dissident of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei's regime – fled her hometown of Tehran in 2014 following persecution for her political activism.
"I wrote articles against the regime to let people know what exactly is happening to them in the dictatorship regime," Amin told i24NEWS.
She first escaped to neighboring Turkey where she was recognized as a refugee by the United Nations and where she continued to publicly criticize Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Fearing that Turkish authorities would send her back to Iran, she turned to Israel, where in 2017 then-Interior Minister Arye Dery approved her entry.
Upon her arrival, Amin requested refugee status, which was pending for several years. Meanwhile, she had a child with an Israeli man, according to the Haaretz daily.
Now, five years after coming to the Jewish state, the 30-year-old is in the process of being deported after Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked rejected her request for asylum, citing security risks that the Shin Bet security agency says Amin poses.
"Ms. Amin was questioned about her ties with the Iranian intelligence agencies… she continued to maintain them," the Shin Bet said in a statement.
Amin has one year to leave Israel, being given an extra year of temporary status by Shaked to prepare for her departure.
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"If I had any security problems, [Israel] wouldn't let me live free for four years," Amin pleaded. "It doesn't make sense, it's unfair… Where should I go? My daughter is Israeli. What should I tell her? That the government of your country kicked me out?"
This article was first published by i24NEWS
