URGENT: PROTECT REYHANEH MAJIDI — WOMAN AT RISK

Reyhaneh Majidi is an Iranian women’s rights activist and survivor of imprisonment, torture, flogging, and sexual violence by Iranian authorities. Because of her activism and refusal to be silenced, she has been continuously targeted by Iranian state-linked actors — even outside Iran.

She is currently in Armenia, where she has been detained, interrogated, threatened, and told to leave the country or face deportation. Authorities have acknowledged that her life would be in danger, yet she still faces removal.

Deporting Reyhaneh would place her at immediate risk of renewed persecution, torture, and gender-based violence.

She is not just at risk — she is a documented survivor of state torture and ongoing political targeting.

We urgently call on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Minister of Immigration to provide immediate, life-saving protection to Reyhaneh Majidi.

Her case falls squarely within Canada’s protection mandates:

✔ Survivor of sexual violence and torture in detention
✔ Woman at Risk without state or family protection
✔ Targeted for political activism and gender-based persecution
✔ Facing imminent danger of refoulement to Iran

Delays in protection processing could have irreversible consequences.

We ask IRCC to urgently:

Fast-track her protection under Women at Risk pathways
Coordinate with UNHCR for immediate safeguarding
Consider issuance of a Temporary Resident Permit on urgent humanitarian grounds
Exercise Ministerial intervention authority to prevent irreparable harm.She has already been targeted beyond Iran’s borders and cannot safely stay in a country so close to Iran, where transnational repression and intimidation place her in ongoing danger.

Reyhaneh’s case represents exactly why emergency protection programs exist. She is a survivor of torture, a mother separated from her child due to discrimination, and a visible advocate for women’s rights.

Returning her to Iran would violate the global principle of non-refoulement — the obligation not to send a person back to a place where they face persecution or torture.

Canada has long been a leader in protecting women at risk and human rights defenders. This is a moment to act decisively.

 
She is a survivor. A human rights voice. A woman who refused to be silenced.

Her life now depends on urgent protection.

We urge IRCC to immediately fast-track protection for Reyhaneh Majidi before it is too late.