Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Christian converts are among the Iranians being sent home from US
Majid - not his real name - had fled Iran for the US in October 2024, after repeated detentions and alleged torture, first because of his involvement in the Mahsa Amini protests, and later because of his conversion to Christianity.
When US officials forced him to board a plane carrying more than 150 deportees heading to Managua, Nicaragua, he remembers being the only non–Latin American on the plane. Hours later, the flight landed and officials handcuffed him, denied his request for asylum and directed him onto an itinerary routing him through Venezuela and Turkey toward Iran - a journey he understood as a forced return.
Majid later was able to go into hiding in Istanbul, terrified of what awaited him back in Iran. He is one of several Iranian Christian converts who spoke to the BBC - most anonymously out of fear for relatives back home - whose asylum claims have been rejected in the past year. Their accounts point to inconsistencies in how US authorities assess the risks facing Iranian returnees and how sensitive religious information in asylum files is handled.
...
As the US continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, it has made unprecedented changes to its policy towards Iranian asylum seekers. In late September, authorities arranged a chartered flight to Iran via Qatar - the first of its kind in decades, given the absence of diplomatic ties and Iran's human-rights record. The flight represented an unusual example of cooperation between Iran and the US.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdege0k962do
When US officials forced him to board a plane carrying more than 150 deportees heading to Managua, Nicaragua, he remembers being the only non–Latin American on the plane. Hours later, the flight landed and officials handcuffed him, denied his request for asylum and directed him onto an itinerary routing him through Venezuela and Turkey toward Iran - a journey he understood as a forced return.
Majid later was able to go into hiding in Istanbul, terrified of what awaited him back in Iran. He is one of several Iranian Christian converts who spoke to the BBC - most anonymously out of fear for relatives back home - whose asylum claims have been rejected in the past year. Their accounts point to inconsistencies in how US authorities assess the risks facing Iranian returnees and how sensitive religious information in asylum files is handled.
...
As the US continues its crackdown on illegal immigration, it has made unprecedented changes to its policy towards Iranian asylum seekers. In late September, authorities arranged a chartered flight to Iran via Qatar - the first of its kind in decades, given the absence of diplomatic ties and Iran's human-rights record. The flight represented an unusual example of cooperation between Iran and the US.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdege0k962do
As the BBC points out, this shows his grandstanding about Christians in Nigeria is just bullshit. Though they put it more politely.
1 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
