A couple of years ago, Turkey's threat to deport Iranian journalist Neda Amin back to the Islamic Republic of Iran made headlines across the world. Ultimately, Amin managed to obtain asylum in Israel. However, there are other Iranian refugees in Turkey today who are not so fortunate. In recent days, Turkey has threatened to deport Iranian women's rights activist Maryam Shariatmadari back to the Islamic Republic of Iran, where she would likely be executed for her political activism and she is not the only Iranian dissident to face such threats in Turkey. These threats should come to an end immediately.
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Shariatmadari was one of the Enghelab Street Girls, who deliberately removed their hijabs in public in the framework of political protests in favor of women's rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Due to her protesting Iran's compulsory hijab policy, Shariatmadari was beaten by the Iranian police and then sentenced to jail time, but she somehow managed to escape to Turkey. For one year, she stayed in Turkey without problems, but then her Iranian passport expired and she could not renew it, so the Turkish authorities threatened to deport her back to Iran, claiming that her stay in Turkey was no longer legal.
However, Shariatmadari then made a public plea on social media stressing that she was being held by the Turkish Police and was about to be deported from the country.
Mendi Safadi, who heads the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research, Public Relations and Human Rights, wrote a letter to Turkish Justice Minister Mekin Mustafa Kemal Okem, declaring, "Maryam's extradition is a death sentence for her and for justice and human rights, especially since you know that the death penalty in Iran is customarily used against any human rights activist."
The time has come for Turkey to stop threatening to deport and actually deporting Iranian refugees back to Iran, which is a death sentence for them. The time has come for the Turkish Republic to respect the human rights of Iranian refugees and to ensure that they can live dignified lives in Turkey, free of fear and intimidation, until they are safely able to resettle in a safe third country, as Turkey is required to do in accordance with international law.
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