By: A group of Iranian women’s rights activists and the LGBTQ+ community of Iran
August 18, 2022
In recent years, asylum-seeking and (being) refugees have been a significant part of lived experience in the LGBTQ+ society of Iran and Afghanistan. They leave for the Republic of Turkey to seek asylum and live on the asylum seekers’ campuses. To live their true self and their gender or/and sexual/emotional orientation and lifestyle choices, they must leave behind their families, houses, cities, and countries to achieve equal fundamental civil rights, freedom, security, and safety.
LGBTQ+ asylum seekers from Iran and Afghanistan experience all kinds of systemic violence, discrimination, and inequality, like homophobia, transphobia, transmisogyny, lesbophobia, NBphobia, biphobia, and racism of migration agencies, people, or cishet asylum seekers in Turkey or other countries.
In this circumstance, human rights organizations and institutions are responsible for easing and reducing these discriminating situations that address the LGBTQ+ asylum seekers’ society.
That is why these human rights organizations and institutions are expected to intervene and address the arrest of Mahsa Hasanzadeh, a transgender woman and an asylum seeker, on the charge of “insulting the sacred.” Her life will be in danger if she is deported to Iran, and organizations and institutions must intervene and support her rights and save her life.
For a transgender woman who has been living with experiencing systemic violence and discrimination caused by transmisogyny, deportation is already frightening and a very sensitive matter, let alone also being charged with insulting the sacred.
There is no clear information on Mahsa’s health and mental state, court ruling, or her access to a lawyer since she was arrested in the detention center.
Therefore, we, women activists, and the Iranian LGBTQ+ society request all human rights organizations to follow up, investigate, and condemn Mahsa Hasanzadeh’s arrest and deportation. We ask all human rights agencies and institutions to spread Mahsa’s status, support this transgender asylum seeker’s freedom, and prevent deportation.
For support and following up on Mahsa Hasanzadeh’s arrest, her situation, and spreading her news, the related agencies are as follows.
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Republic of Türkiye Ministory of Interior Presidency of Migration Management.https://en.goc.gov.tr/
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Aydin il göçe idaresi geri gönderme merkezi.https://aydin.goc.gov.tr/iletisim
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Court of Cassationhttps://www.yargitay.gov.tr/
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KAOS GL Associationhttps://kaosgldernegi.org/en/
Initial signers:
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Elahe Amani
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Asiyeh Amini
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Artemis Akbari
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Azadeh Atai
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Benyamin Farnam
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Hami Mehr
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Raha Ghiasi
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Rezvan Moghadam
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Zeynab Peyghambarzadeh
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Ziba Razmkhah
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Samaneh Savadi
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Soheil Farzaneh
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Sina Mokhtari
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Shaghayegh Noroozi
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Asal Abbasian
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Kaveh Kermanshahi
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Mahdieh Golrou
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Mina Khani
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Nima Nia
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Yavar Baradaran Khosroshahi
امضا با تلگرام