meeting activists exiled in Iraqi Kurdistan to flee the repression of the regime

They sometimes crossed these peaks to illegally reach Iraqi Kurdistan, in the neighboring country. They fled the Iranian regime’s crackdown on an unprecedented uprising following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in suspicious conditions on September 16. A team from France Télévisions traveled to Kurdistan to meet protest figures threatened by the Tehran regime.

Opponents under threat

Morgan Keshavarz is a pioneer of the feminist movement in Iran. She was imprisoned and tortured for three years, then placed under house arrest. Despite the risks, she decided to join the movement. “I put on a mask so as not to be recognized”, she explains. K., a student, has set up an underground network to collect medicines and help those injured in the demonstrations. He was quickly unmasked by the Pasdaran, the guards of the Islamic Revolution. He remained 21 days in prison. “Every day they tortured me”, he says. Released, he resumed his activities before fleeing the country, knowing he was threatened.

For all opponents of the Iranian regime, exile is no guarantee of security. Last November, Iran bombed the headquarters of an opposition party based in Iraqi Kurdistan, killing 16 people.