Lives of Over 150 Iranian Refugees in Turkey in Jeopardy

According to the information received, more than 150 Iranian refugees have for nearly one month staged a sit-in in the office of one of the parties in Turkey and demand to receive refugee status from the United Nations Office for the refugee affairs in Ankara. Despite the fact that some countries have expressed agreement to grant them entry visas, the refugees' fate is still uncertain and they are in the danger of being extradited to Iran. Having signed a security pact with the Khomeini regime, the government of Turkey has extradited a number of Iranian refugees in the past year.

Some of the refugees in the sit-in have several children. One lady with a 12-year-old daughter, was arrested in Iran and imprisoned three times on political grounds. Another refugee committed suicide when he received his deportation order.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran condemns Turkey's treatment of Iranian refugees which directly contradicts the sacred right to asylum. The NCR calls for urgent measures to facilitate transfer of these refugees to other countries. If returned to Iran, the asylum-seekers will face imprisonment, torture and execution.

The Iranian Resistance draws the attention of the United Nations officials on refugee affairs to the recent resolution of the U.N. Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities which condemned the violations of human rights in Iran emphasizing particularly the "excessive use of the death penalty" and the harassment and assassination of Iranian dissidents abroad.

Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran - Paris August 28, 1995

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