Israel grants asylum to persecuted Iranian journalist

An Iranian journalist threatened with the death penalty in her home country has found refuge in Israel. 

Iranian Nada Amin, a journalist whom the Islamic Republic is persecuting for her views, has been granted asylum in Israel, Minister of Interior Aryeh Deri confirmed Sunday.

Amin, who has been seeking refuge in Turkey for the past three years, was to be extradited to Iran, where she could face the death penalty.

The Jerusalem Journalists Association and the National Journalists Association approached Deri with the request on behalf of Amin, and he announced that the asylum was granted.

Amin also faced the death penalty in Iran for her columns in the Times of Israel Farsi edition.

Deri noted that Amin was facing a real threat to her life solely for writing columns for an Israeli news site.

“Under these explicit humanitarian circumstances, I granted her asylum without hesitation,” Deri wrote.

The state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human right activists, writers, and organizations.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission have repeatedly condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions.

The European Union (EU) in April extended sanctions against Iran by another year over what the bloc says are serious human rights violations.

In November, the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee urged the Islamic Republic of Iran to cease its widespread use of “disappearances” and arbitrary detention, and also expressed serious concern about Tehran’s severe limitations on freedom of thought, conscience and practice of religion or belief.

By: World Israel News Staff

Aryeh Derifreedom of presshuman rightsIran