An Iranian woman converted to Christianity in 2010 and was an active member of a Christian group. Her husband, angered by her faith and her involvement in a church, divorced her and then tipped off the authorities about her involvement with the Christian community.

“Responding to her ex-husband’s allegations, police arrived at her home with an arrest warrant. They confiscated Bibles, religious pamphlets and other materials related to her faith, which were seen as dangerous contraband by the authorities.”

Said Jude Simion from Philoi Global, a refugee aid group dealing with the woman’s case. The Christian woman was arrested twice, in 2013 and 2014, before leaving Iran and seeking refuge in Türkiye. After her arrival, she and her family, her new husband and their daughter, were recognised and given the status of refugees in 2015, but Turkish authorities denied her asylum.

In 2018 the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) handed the responsibility of dealing with asylum applications to the Turkish government. Since her arrival in Turkey, the Christian woman applied for asylum six times but was never granted even the chance to present her case in front of a court.

This year, on the 30th of October, she was arrested even though she is currently pregnant and is caring for her two-year-old child. After the arrest, authorities issued a deportation order against her that says if she has not left Turkey by the end of November, she will be detained again and most likely deported back to Iran, where her and her family’s lives would be put into direct danger.

Source: Christian Daily

Photo: Wikimedia