PRIORITY: EXTREMELY HIGH
DATE: MONDAY
1 SEPTEMBER 2003
SUBJECT: IRANIAN REFUGEES / TURKEY /
IRANIAN REFUGEES IN TURKEY IN
IMMINENT DANGER
OF DEPORTATION TO IRAN
Reports coming in from the
International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) in the city of Van in
Turkey speak of the imminent danger of deportation to Iran of Iranian refugees
detained in raids yesterday by the Turkish police. The detainees include refugees from Pakistan
and Iraq, who are also in danger of deportation.
23 of these refugees are from
Iran, who had originally fled northern Iraq and have been living here for the
past two years.
12 of these detainees have
been deported to Iran. Their names are: 1-Jalal Sharifi
2- Ali Azizi 3- Ghader Saeidi 4- Ghafur Soltanfar 5- Rasoul Abasi 6-Khaled Negahdar 7- Sadredin Yusefi 8- voriya tataie 9- shuresh Abbasi 10- Bayazid Ahmadi 11- Kaveh Saeidi 12- Karim shakkak. Reports from familis of two detainees disclosed that Jalal
Sharifi and Ghafur Soltanfar now have been taken in Iran ( Rezaeiyeeh )'s jailed by Iranian authorities.
There are currently hundreds of
claimants are currently on the verge of deportation. The Islamic Republic of
Iran's execution of a deported Iranian asylum seeker, Karim
Tujali, two years ago has renewed the real fear of
execution and persecution in all refugees and refugee claimants residing in
Turkey.
IFIR in Van warns that since
these refugees are or have been activists of political organisations opposed to
the Iranian regime, their deportation to Iran would put their life in serious
danger.
Our colleagues in Van have in
repeated contacts with the UNHCR offices in Van and Ankara called on them to
intervene. However, no action has so far
been taken by the UNHCR in Turkey to stop the deportations.
The International Federation
of Iranian Refugees is calling for protest actions outside Turkish embassies
and consulates around the world in order to put an immediate end to the planned
deportations. We call on all those
concerned to join this campaign and to send letters of protest to the Turkish
government and UNHCR offices in Turkey.
The UNHCR's resolute intervention against deportations. The UNHCR is responsible for the threats to the lives
and safety of deportees;
The immediate resettlement of
those recognised as refugees to a safe third country,
including those Iranians who have fled Iraqi Kurdistan for fear of their lives
and the inactivity of the UNHCR offices in Northern Iraq;
The International Federation of Iranian
Refugees call upon all refugees and asylum seekers, progressive political
parties, trades unions and civil rights organisations
to lend their support to this demands. .
Please fax / email your
letters to:
Fax no.
0090-312-466-9011
Cankaya@tccb.gov.tr
webmaster@mfa.gov.tr
Ankara: corabati@unhcr.ch
0090-312-441-1378 (fax)
0090-312-441-2173 (fax)
0090-312-441-1483 (Tel -
Director UNHCR Turkey)
Van: ennis@unhcr.ch
For signing the petition
please click here:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/IFIRTURK/petition.html