Iran International
An Iranian protester shot during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising is living in constant pain with more than 80 lead pellets lodged in his body — and now fears deportation from Turkey to Iran, where he could face severe punishment.
Speaking to Iran International, 22-year-old Arya Ostad Ebrahimi described how he was gravely wounded by security forces during protests in the Kurdish city of Mahabad in November 2022 and forced to flee the country after repeated threats against him and his family.
“I was injured by the oppressive forces of the Islamic Republic,” he said. “That day, I helped a woman and her little son escape when they attacked the crowd. I saved their lives — but I was shot at close range and severely injured.”
Ebrahimi said both of his legs were struck by shotgun pellets.
“They took me to a village instead of a hospital because Mahabad was under military rule,” he told Iran International. “They removed some of the bullets, but around 80 are still inside my body.”
Doctors, he said, later confirmed that many of the pellets were lodged near his knees and arteries, making surgery impossible.
“The pain never stops,” Ebrahimi said. “When I sleep, if I roll onto my side or put my hand under my head, I wake up from the pain. It’s like someone is pressing a syringe into my wrist.”
From protest to exile
Before the uprising, Ebrahimi was a boxer and runner preparing to study law. His life changed the day he attended the funeral of slain protester Zanyar Abubakri — one of the bloodiest days of the Mahabad demonstrations.
“The people of Mahabad were brutally beaten and shot,” he recalled. “I couldn’t stand by and do nothing.”
After being shot, he hid in safe houses to avoid arrest.
Security forces raided his family home several times, threatening to kidnap his nine-year-old sister if he failed to surrender. “They came in the middle of the night with guns,” he said. “My little sister still hasn’t recovered from the fear of those nights.”
Eventually, he fled Iran and sought refuge in Turkey. But even there, he said, he has not found safety. His asylum status has been revoked, and he must regularly report to authorities — a process he fears could lead to his arrest and deportation.
“The Turkish government took away my residence and asylum status,” he explained. “Now, through a lawyer, I’m just buying time. I have to go every few weeks to sign at the immigration office, and I’m terrified each time. I’ve seen how others like me — political refugees — have been arrested while signing and sent back to Iran.”
He said that fear has made daily life unbearable. “I can’t sleep. I’m afraid they’ll come to my house one day and take me away. If they send me back, it will be a death sentence. I know what will happen to me in Iran.”
A growing crisis for Iranian refugees
Ebrahimi’s ordeal is part of a wider crisis facing Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey. Iran International has previously reported on how political dissidents and protesters who fled Iran are being detained, mistreated, and in some cases prepared for deportation.
In January, Iran International profiled 35-year-old Iranian refugee Sina Rostami, held in a Turkish deportation camp.
Also a former protester in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, Rostami said he was routinely awakened by guards striking him with batons and forced to live in overcrowded, filthy quarters.
“The way they treat us here is like we’re not humans,” Rostami said at the time.
In February, Iran International reported on Iranian refugee and LGBTQ+ activist Nahid Modarresi, who lost her protected-person status after the United Nations handed asylum responsibilities to Ankara.
“I hide myself because I am too afraid to go outside,” she said.
Legal advocates estimate that thousands of Iranians once under UN protection have had their status revoked, leaving them at risk of detention and deportation.
Together, these cases reveal a growing pattern of pressure on Iranian refugees in Turkey. Human rights groups warn that political exiles are being left without protection and face possible repatriation to Iran, where they risk torture, imprisonment, or execution
Despite his injuries and uncertainty, Arya Ostad Ebrahimi remains determined to keep speaking out.
“I didn’t commit any crime,” he said softly. “I just wanted freedom.”
