Deporting Hekmat and his family to Iran would put their lives in serious danger.

Hekmat Salimi is a 72-years-old grandfather and has served churches in the Iran Diocese for many years. As a result of many persecutions and imprisonments during his ministry, he and his family, his wife and daughter, have been living as asylum-seekers in Turkey since 2016.

However, after six years, they have not been accepted as refugees and they were told last week (14th Feb 2022) that they must leave Turkey within seven days or face forcible deportation. So they are currently in hiding.

If they are sent back to Iran, they will be imprisoned and persecuted and most probably, their lives will be in danger.

We call on the Ankara Immigration Office (gocidaresi@goc.gov.tr) and Zonguldak Immigration Office (zonguldak@goc.gov.tr) to stop sending back Hekmat and his family back to Iran

We ask the UNHCR and international monitoring bodies to ensure Hekmat and his family are protected.  

Read more about Hekmat's story. 

Watch Hekmat's interview in Farsi