To: UNHCR BO Ankara Turkey
E-mail:turan@unhcr.ch, ennis@unhcr.ch
Fax: 00903124412173
۲۸ January 2013
To the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Ankara, Turkey
To Turkish Ministry of Internal Affairs
RE: Iman Pirdadeh …
Risk of deportation of an Iranian political dissident from Turkey to Iran
I am writing to inform you that on Friday 18 January 2013 Mr Iman Pirdadeh, an Iranian political dissident, who had fled Iran with the intention of applying for political asylum in a European country, was arrested by the Turkish border police at Istanbul Ataturk Airport and is currently being detained.
It should be noted that Mr Pirdadeh’s wife, Mrs Hadis Beyranvand, applied for political asylum in Norway two years ago, and is currently living in Norway. Mrs Hadis Beyranvand, who has informed the International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) about the detention of her husband, has asked the UNHCR in Turkey and all human rights and refugee rights organisations to do all they can to stop the deportation of her husband to Iran. Mr Iman Pirdadeh is a political activist and if he were to be deported to Iran, he would be in danger of being detained and severely punished by the judicial and security authorities of the Islamic Republic.
According to our information, since his detention, Mr Pirdadeh has tried to make contact with the UNHCR in Ankara in order to submit his application for asylum. However, the police in Izmir, where Mr Pirdadeh is being held, have prevented him from contacting the UNHCR, and have told him that he has no other option but to return to Iran. Unfortunately, the experience of our Organisation over many years of defending the rights of Iranian refugees in Turkey is that the Turkish police on many occasions has deported asylum seekers to Iran, who have then either been executed by the Islamic Republic authorities or held for years under torture in Iran’s prisons. This is a grave concern of Mr Pirdadeh’s wife and family in Norway. Mr Pirdadeh is currently being held in the Molai Camp in Izmir.
As you are aware, Iran is a highly dangerous place for human rights activists and political dissidents. Mr Pirdadeh’s life and safety would therefor be in grave danger if he were to be returned to Iran. Mr Pirdadeh is in urgent need of protection as a political refugee in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention, and the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees on ground of his well-founded fear of persecution by the Islamic Republic authorities.
The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) therefore requests the UNHCR in Turkey, exercising its powers and responsibilities in protecting the lives and safety of refugees, to take urgent steps to stop the imminent deportation of Mr Iman Pirdadeh to Iran.
Yours faithfully,
Abdollah Asadi
Secretary,
International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR)
