Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Turkish Islamist Government Arrests Secular Iranian Dissidents

Five Iranian secular dissidents who have been accepted as bonafide refugees by UNHCR, were beaten up by the Turkish police and their whereabouts is currently unknown. Despite the numerous witnesses who saw the Turkish police beat up the five Iranians, the Turkish authorities say they have no knowledge of where the five are.

Iranian refugees in Van, Turkey, fear that the five have been rounded up and returned to the Islamic Republic as a first act of co-operation between the two Islamist governments in cracking down against secular dissidents.

Mahan (Ali) Alemzadeh, Arya (Abolfazl) Adjorloo and Mojtaba Vatanpoor, members of the Confederation of Iranian Students (CIS), and Alireza Ranjbar and Pezhman Piran were protesting at the Turkish authorities for not allowing them to leave Turkey despite their asylum cases having been approved by the UNHCR a long time ago.

Abdullah Gul, the newly appointed Islamic president of Turkey, will today be visiting the border city of Van, as the first stop of his post election victory domestic trip. The pro-Islamic mayor of Van, Burhan Yenigün, has ordered 10,000 roses to be distributed amongst the Van residents to greet the Turkish Islamist president.

Secular people in Turkey should express solidarity with their Iranian counterparts against their new Islamic government and demand to know the whereabouts of the five Iranian refugees.


Anonymous said...

police in Van are some of the most corrupt and backward of Turkey's citizens. Europe will have a shock with them if Turkey is ever allowed to join the EU.

Anonymous said...

VAN police are the corruptest of the corruptest.

Winston said...

Turkey is not going to be a safe place for the Iranian dissidents. (well I admit it never was but i just wanted to give them the benefitt of the doubt)

پاشا said...

دولت ترکيه در اذيت وآزار ايرانيان مخالف جمهوری اسلامی در پی نرنجاندن دولتمداران اسلامی ايران و در نتيجه حفظ منافع مالی و تجاری است و بس.ـ