IranWire has received three shocking audio files and detailed information regarding the situation of four Iranian refugees in Turkey, revealing that all four individuals are at risk of deportation to Iran and face heavy, fabricated legal cases by the Iranian government. At least two of them have open security cases in Turkey and stand accused of “acting against national security” in that country.
However, informed sources have told IranWire that the evidence brought against them consists of reporting on the difficult and, at times, unlivable conditions of Iranian and Afghan refugees in Turkey, alongside activism against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and that they have committed no acts against the Turkish government.
“Shilan Mirzaei,” a human rights activist and former refugee detainee in Turkey who is now in Canada, told IranWire that for several years, pressure has been mounting on Iranian activists in Turkey who refuse to stay silent and speak out against the Iranian government. She noted that heavy prison sentences, deportations, and long-term detentions have become standard punishments for actions against the Islamic Republic in Turkey. Ms. Mirzaei says that these punishments are applied to most individuals who continue their activism, regardless of which political group the targeted activist belongs to in Iran, and that this all falls outside the scope of their refugee status.
This report is the narrative of “Mohammad Feyzi,” a detainee from the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests; “Sara Sasannia,” a journalist; “Damon Pournemati,” a press photographer; and “Farzad Misaghi,” a human rights activist and Baha’i citizen of Iran who has been a refugee in Turkey since 2016. They have called upon human rights organizations and institutions to take action regarding the situation of refugees and prevent their deportation to Iran.
Damon Pournemati: Photojournalist at Risk of Deportation From Turkey
Damon Pournemati is a photojournalist. In the bio section of his Instagram page, he identifies himself as a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the International Sports Press Association (AIPS). His photographs have been published on well-known platforms such as Getty Images, Middle East Images, and Agence France-Presse (AFP). Currently, however, he is in detention in Turkey. According to one of his relatives, the charge against him is “acting against national security” of Turkey.
IranWire’s efforts to speak with Damon or obtain an audio recording from him have not been possible so far due to his detention. Nonetheless, an informed source told IranWire that the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management has issued his deportation order, and he faces the grave danger of being expelled to Iran, a place where he could face years in prison for his professional activities, particularly his coverage of Iranian protests during the “Mahsa” movement.
The informed individual who spoke with IranWire states that Damon’s refugee case had been approved by the Turkish migration office in 2018, his designated city of residence was Kayseri, and he was scheduled to be resettled in a third country. However, the Turkish migration office revoked that approval without providing any reason and levied the charge of acting against national security against him, interpreting his actions as operating against the Islamic Republic.
Shilan Mirzaei, the human rights activist and former Iranian refugee in Turkey, states that Damon “was very active during the Jina movement and covered the protests.” She emphasizes that this photojournalist “genuinely helped refugees and played a major role in amplifying campaigns to halt deportations.”
Sara Sasannia: Journalist and Monarchist Activist at Risk of Deportation to Iran
In an audio file obtained by IranWire, Sara Sasannia, an Iranian refugee residing in Turkey, states that she has lived in the country for eleven years but is currently in a “highly dangerous and extrajudicial” situation.
In the audio recording sent to IranWire, she explains that she is the daughter of Afshin Sasannia, a former monarchist political prisoner who endured years of prolonged detention, torture, and violent interrogations in solitary confinement at Isfahan’s Dastgerd Prison: “Because of these beliefs, he [my father] spent years in prison, and when he was released, he wasn’t truly free; the pressure continued not just on him, but on the entire family. In 2014, forced by pressure from the Ministry of Intelligence, I left Iran along with my father, migrated to Turkey, and registered with the United Nations. From that time until today, despite having UN approval, we have been left in limbo.”
Ms. Sasannia states in the audio file provided to IranWire that in 2022, coinciding with the Mahsa Amini uprising, she and her father began their activism, after which the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management placed them under intense pressure following the rallies held during those days: “For this very reason, Turkish authorities summoned and interrogated my father and me, asking: ‘Will you engage in any further activities against the Islamic Republic or not?’ Ultimately, in 2024, following a biased and superficial interview, I received a rejection from the migration office, and a deportation order was immediately issued, despite all the documentation and evidence proving the grave danger we face in Iran.”
Sara also points to the parallel cases of herself and her father, stating that they are facing “intentional deportation”: “Instead of supporting political figures, the migration office aligns with the Islamic Republic to put them at risk, and the United Nations plays no role in these decisions.”
In another part of the audio file, Sara Sasannia provides further details about her case, stating: “My deportation order was issued after the final rejection of the case and the denial of all three stages of formal appeal, even though the United Nations had recognized our refugee status back in 2016. This deportation order was issued directly in response to my media work as a journalist and political activist. My mission does not allow me to remain silent.”
Ms. Sasannia also notes repeated calls from the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus after the deportation order was issued: “They told me, ‘We know you have a deportation order. If they don’t deport you, we will come right to your house in Denizli, throw you in a sack, and take you. Doing this is like drinking water for us.’ They knew exactly where I lived and the status of my file. My family members inside Iran have been threatened and summoned repeatedly.”
The pressure on her persisted through the January protests, coinciding with her work reporting on the casualties of the January 2026 unrest: “My activities are so visible that the Islamic Republic’s security agencies possess my residential address in Denizli, my contact number, and precise details of my life. The threats have been accompanied by profanity and systematic psychological pressure, aimed entirely at silencing my media and human rights work.”
According to this journalist opposed to the Islamic Republic, returning to Iran would mean “either a gradual or immediate death,” and immediate arrest awaits her from the moment of her arrival.
Farzad Misaghi: A Born-Baha’i at Risk of Deportation to Iran
Farzad Misaghi is a human rights activist who was born into a Baha’i family. His wife is the child of a “martyr” from the Iran-Iraq War and had faced “difficulties” with the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs in Iran, which initially prompted their departure from the country. Farzad Misaghi’s name was recently published by an Iranian security website called Ferqeh News, which routinely fabricates legal cases against religious minorities in Iran. Following reports regarding the risk of deportation facing the Misaghi family, the website labeled him and his family as examples of the Turkish government’s crackdown on Baha’is, accusing them of being lawbreakers.
According to statements made by Mr. Misaghi in an audio file received by IranWire, he and his family fled to Turkey in 2016 and were scheduled to be interviewed in 2018, but this interview never took place. On the contrary, the only time the migration office summoned him was when they arrested him, sending him to a detention center “handcuffed and blindfolded” in front of his wife.
Courts in Turkey ruled in his favor twice, with the immigration court judgments stating that he possessed sufficient evidence and documentation to qualify for asylum. Even in a court case held regarding his lawsuit against the migration office for closing his asylum file, the judge ruled in his favor, according to him. However, in a third court, the judiciary ignored this evidence, and the Turkish Directorate General of Migration Management ultimately rejected his asylum request: “My arrest was primarily due to my activities in Turkey supporting refugees, alongside publishing news and events occurring in Iran during the Mahsa movement. After all this, I was interviewed in late 2024, and despite the third court’s ruling in Ankara, this interview was completely superficial. Even though my wife was the main applicant on the file, all the questions were directed at me and had absolutely nothing to do with the events we experienced in Iran. Ultimately, the migration office rejected my file.”
He was once on the verge of applying for a Canadian visa, but his wife and daughter - and later, he and his other children - were arrested after visiting the police department to obtain a permit to travel outside their city of residence, which served as a pretext for Ferqeh News to fabricate further allegations against this Iranian refugee.
At the end of the audio file sent to IranWire, he requested “help and support” from human rights activists and media outlets that can hear his voice.
Mohammad Feyzi: Former Political Prisoner at Risk of Arrest and Expulsion to Iran
The fourth narrative in this report concerns Mohammad Feyzi, a detainee from the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests who was incarcerated in Ghezel Hesar and Rajai Shahr prisons. According to his own account, he was cellmates with Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Mohammad Hosseini, and Dr. Hamid Ghareh-Hassanlou - defendants in the case of Ruhollah Ajamian, a Basij member whom the regime claims was killed by crowds. Of these three names, Mohammad Mehdi Karami and Mohammad Hosseini were executed in December 2022, and Dr. Hamid Ghareh-Hassanlou is currently serving a long-term prison sentence in the Central Prison of Yazd. IranWire had previously reviewed documents and information proving that Dr. Ghareh-Hassanlou and his wife, Farzaneh Ghareh-Hassanlou, played no role in Ajamian’s killing; on the contrary, they were attempting to calm the crowd angered by the lethal crackdowns.
In this audio file, Mr. Feyzi points to his arrest in October 2022, detailing methods of torture such as “the chicken position,” being kicked in the stomach, and psychological abuse during his detention by the IRGC Intelligence Organization and the Ministry of Intelligence. He notes that one of the charges leveled against him was “corruption on Earth.”
He explains that despite all of this, he managed to reach Turkey. However, despite submitting all documentation, ranging from his case files on the judiciary’s “SANA” portal to declaring that his life would be in immediate danger if he were expelled to Iran, the Turkish migration office rejected his case, and he is currently at “risk of arrest and deportation”: “My living conditions have become incredibly difficult, so much so that I cannot even describe how I get by. I am in a situation where I cannot even take my wife to a doctor.”
According to him, because he continued his activism on Instagram after leaving the country, security apparatuses in Iran have repeatedly contacted his family, threatening to assassinate him in Turkey: “In recent years, calls have been made to my family and my wife’s family threatening to kill me in Turkey, and they have repeatedly threatened that my case file is very heavy. They have offered me cooperation multiple times, but I have always rejected it. They have threatened me with death repeatedly, and in the latest call to my family, they stated that he is a traitor to the homeland and is working with Israel.”
At the end, Mr. Feyzi appealed for assistance from all media and international organizations, stating: “My situation is extremely critical and my life is in danger. Now, while I am still alive, I beg you to be our voice.”
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