An Iranian woman who was among 299 migrants deported by the United States to Panama has appealed to President Donald Trump for a reprieve so she can avoid being sent back to Iran. As a Christian convert, Artemis Ghasemzadeh, 27, could face execution or life in prison under Iran’s Sharia law if she is forced to return.
Speaking to the FRANCE 24 Observers from the hotel in Panama City where the migrants are being held, Artemis Ghasemzadeh said: “Our first request is a reprieve from President Trump – just for our cases to be reviewed.”
Ghasemzadeh said US officials had confiscated many of the deportees’ phones and that she was the only one talking to the media: “Everyone, really everyone, has asked me to say please do not deport us to our country of origin.”
The Iranians were among the first group of 119 people flown to Panama on a US Army flight on February 12. A second flight followed a day later. A total of 360 people are expected to be removed from the US and sent to Panama.
Speaking at a press conference on February 13, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino commented on the arrivals coming from “places like China, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and all of the ‘Stans.’ (…) They are temporarily staying in a local hotel and from there will be transported to a shelter we have in San Vicente, in Darién. We hope to get them out of there as soon as possible through flights.”
Panama’s Security Minister Frank Abrego said Tuesday that 171 of the 299 deportees have agreed to return voluntarily to their respective countries with help from the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency.
Iranian woman’s video appeal goes viral online
Ghasemzadeh first gained attention by posting a dramatic call for help from the Decapolis Hotel in Panama City, where the deportees are being held. She described how the deportees were handcuffed and shackled by masked American soldiers before being placed on a military aircraft without being informed of their destination. After a seven-hour flight, they realised they had arrived in Panama when they saw the badges of the Panama police. “We are twelve Iranians who have all converted to Christianity, and there is no way they could deport us to Iran,” she says in the video.
‘I wonder why Afghan women and Iranians whose lives are at risk were on the first deportation flight’
The FRANCE 24 Observers contacted Ghasemzadeh at the hotel on Tuesday. Here is her account:
“The accommodation here is good, but we are not allowed to leave the hotel. We cannot even go to other floors. We are on the eighth floor and can only eat in the restaurant on the first floor before going straight back to our rooms. Panamanian police officers accompany us everywhere.
The only time we can see and talk to other asylum seekers is when we are taken to the restaurant to eat.
I am the only person with a connection to the outside world, so during mealtimes, we exchange news and try to keep each other informed”.
FRANCE 24 had attempted to contact the Decapolis Hotel as early as February 14, but staff initially denied that refugees were staying there. They later refused to respond to further inquiries from journalists. Panama’s government has since barred reporters from visiting the hotel or speaking with the detainees.
Artemis continues:
“While the first flight was mainly families, the Americans separated relatives on the second flight. The men are apparently still in the US, while the women have been deported. We had Afghan and Iranian friends in the detention camp who had husbands, brothers, or other male relatives, but they were separated. On the second flight, the women were deported first –Afghans, Iranians, and others.
“We are really worried. We have no idea what will happen to us here. The president of Panama has said they plan to move us to a camp in a forested area of the Darién region. I have heard from others who have been there that the health and hygiene conditions are terrible. And from there, they want to deport us to our countries of origin.
” We were able to find a lawyer here in Panama, but the police will not let us meet them. I don’t think that’s legal. We have documents proving that we face imminent danger if returned – some of us risk execution or life imprisonment in Iran, as our lawyers have confirmed. We are willing to go to any other country where we can live safely,” she said.
While Ghasemzadeh has expressed fear over what would happen if they were deported to Iran or Afghanistan, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Homeland Security, disputed such concerns. “Not a single one of these aliens asserted fear of returning to their home country at any point during processing or custody,” she claimed.
Artemis said:
“There are also Afghan girls here who have been separated from their siblings. They are terrified of what will happen if they are deported into the hands of the Taliban. They say that if they send us back, it will be our execution order, already signed.
“I applied for asylum in the US, but I never saw a court or a judge, nor did I receive any formal deportation notice. Before I crossed the border from Mexico about a month ago, I had heard President-elect Trump say he would tighten deportation measures. But we thought he meant criminals, not people who are genuinely in danger and have done nothing wrong.
“Everyone, really everyone, has asked me to say please do not deport us to our country of origin, we are in danger there. Our first request is a reprieve from President Trump – just for our cases to be reviewed. But if the US doesn’t want us, that doesn’t matter. We are willing to go to any other country where we can live safely, even here in Panama. If there is a country that truly upholds human rights, we ask them to consider our cases.
“Some churches in the US have reached out to support us, but so far, nothing has changed. We are stuck in a deep state of uncertainty.”
According to The New York Times, conditions in the hotel have become increasingly desperate. At least one person has attempted suicide, while another broke his leg trying to escape. Since then, authorities have confiscated all sharp objects from detainees’ rooms.
Panama is not the only country to have accepted deported migrants from the US. Under pressure from Washington, Guatemala and El Salvador have also agreed to receive asylum seekers from other nations.
In response to Artemis’s viral video, a spokesperson from the Iranian foreign ministry declared on February 15: “Iran is for all Iranians and they can come back.” Artemis, however, does not believe this: “Anyone who has even an ounce of knowledge about the Islamic Republic knows that this is a lie,” she told FRANCE 24.
Source: France 24
