The Hana Human Rights Organization reports that a Kurdish asylum-seeking family in Turkey faces severe risks of arrest, torture, and heavy judicial sentencing in Iran after their asylum application was rejected by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) following 11 years in legal limbo.
According to obtained information, Rezgar Sheikh Jegari, a Kurdish political activist and children’s rights researcher, along with his wife, Soheila Ahmadi, and their two children, Baran and Aran, are facing the imminent threat of deportation to Iran. The family, who have resided in Turkey as asylum seekers since 2015, recently received a negative decision from the UNHCR, clearing the path for forced repatriation by Turkish immigration authorities.
Due to his political activities and his public advocacy and research defending children’s rights, Sheikh Jegari is expected to face severe, fabricated security charges if extradited. Sources close to the family confirmed to Hana that his forced return to Iran poses a grave threat to his life, including immediate detention by security agencies, severe physical and psychological torture to extract forced confessions, and the prospect of heavy judicial sentencing, including long-term imprisonment or the death penalty.
Expressing deep concern over the family’s fate, the Hana Human Rights Organization announced it has submitted separate formal appeals to Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management and other government authorities, urgently demanding an immediate halt to the deportation process.