Arab-Iranian Refugees in Turkey Attacked By Security Agents

20th June 2011

In an interview with Ahvaz News on June 20, journalist Mohammad Hossein Fallahiyeh said: “When my friends (writer Tofigh Nawasiri, journalist Mohammad Hamid, and a refugee new from Ahvaz (K.G)) and I were walking in a park in Noshahir, close to Ankara, suddenly an unknown individual holding a big dagger attacked us.” Fallahiyeh added, “This person made threats to us in Persian and brandished his dagger while yelling at us. Immediately we reported the incident to the police.” Mr Fallahiyah emphasized that the assailant, “…knew our names and made specific threats.”

Based on the claims of Mr. Fallahiyeh, the police arrested the suspected assailant soon after and transferred him to the police station. Mr Fallahiyah, who is currently seeking asylum, emphasized that he and his friends have filed a complaint about the incident and the suspect is expected to be tried within the next few days. Mr Fallahiyeh stated that he believes this incident happened in order to “threaten and scare us so that we don’t write what’s happening in our country.” He added that his weblog and Facebook page were recently hacked by regime supporters.

From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Fallahiyeh was detained at Evin Prison on the charge of endangering national security. After being released, he fled the country due to pressures from the Islamic Republic regime.  Mohammad Hamid is another journalist seeking asylum who worked for the Saudi news agency “Sepa” in Tehran. He is also a civil activist who fled the country during the latest developments in the region and the straining of ties between Iran and the Arab world.

The International Asylum Agency announced in a previous statement that Iranian security elements have many times attacked Iranian refugees in Turkey, kidnapped them from Turkish soil and brought them back to Iran.

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