After the 2009 June elections, the Islamic regime cracked down ruthlessly on Iranian citizens, particularly those who expressed dissent against the current regime. As a result of the brutal and bloody crackdown, thousands of Iranian dissidents fled the country, mostly to Turkey but also to other countries like Iraq, Pakistan, Sweden, Germany and the UK.

As the regime attempts to recover from the blows it was dealt by the Iranian people, it is not only continuing its campaign of repression inside of Iran, but it is also reaching outside of Iran in an effort to silence asylum-seeking Iranian refugees.

Not only are these refugees in need of basic material and social support required under any refugee situation, but they are also at risk of deportation back to the very country where their lives are threatened. Although it is illegal to deport asylum-seekers who have fear of persecution in their home country back to that country, several countries where Iranians have sought asylum have cooperated with the Islamic regime by attempting to send dissident Iranians back to Iran. These countries include the UK, Japan, Turkey, and others.

In this section, we catalog our materials related to the situation of Iranian (and other) refugees. Mission Free Iran is a founding member of the International Coalition for the Rights of Iranian Refugees; we also maintain two refugee-related sub-organizations, No Human is Illegal and World Without Borders.

Chronological listing of all Mission Free Iran refugee-related documents

Listing of all Mission Free Iran refugee-related documents according to country (includes documentation related to specific cases as well as overall situation analyses):
Cyprus
Finland
Greece
Iraq
Japan
Norway
Sweden
Turkey
United Kingdom

April 20, 2010: MFI Analysis: Hands Off Bita Ghaedi! (this analysis goes far beyond the singular case of Bita Ghaedi)

Campaigns:
1. Jamal Saberi (Japan) anti-deportation campaign page
2. Bita Ghaedi (UK) anti-deportation campaign page
3. Anti-deportation campaign materials for other Iranian refugees

Resources:
The European Court of Human Rights’ Rule 39 (Interim Measures)
The European Court of Human Rights’ Rule 39 (Interim Measures) is helpful for an asylum-seeker who is being forcibly returned to their home country where they face the threat of persecution. From the ECHR website: “Interim measures are applied only in limited situations: the most typical cases are ones in which there are fears of a threat to life (situation falling under Article 2 of the Convention) or ill-treatment prohibited by Article 3 of the Convention (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment).”

The National Coalition of Anti-Deportation Campaigns has written on May 5 2010: “The European Court of Human Rights has put in place a new dedicated fax line which applicants and their representatives should use for correspondence relating to requests for interim measures under Rule 39 of the Rules of Court.
The number from UK is: 00 33 3 88 41 39 00 from other countries it is + 33 3 88 41 39 00. Failure to use this number may result in a Rule 39 request not being dealt with immediately.”