Iranian refugees receive a six-month extension in Panama

 

Artemis Ghasemzadeh, a 27-year-old Iranian woman, and other Christian asylum seekers in Panama were given a six-month extension this week to find a new home. 

Ghasemzadeh is in a Panama City hotel with two Christian families from Iran. They were first given 30 days to stay in Panama, then a two-month reprieve until June 7, and now a six-month extension to find a haven. 

Ghasemzadeh’s journey began in late December 2024 when she and her older brother, Shahin, fled Iran and entered the United States illegally through Mexico. Refugees fleeing religious persecution have traditionally been granted asylum on American soil, but they faced more stringent border and refugee laws under the Trump administration. 

The siblings were detained for five days in San Diego and then separated: Ghasemzadeh was flown to Panama with other refugees, and Shahin to a Houston detention facility where he still awaits his immigration hearing. 

International Christian Concern (ICC), nonprofits, government agencies such as the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and Christians globally have been following their case, praying and advocating for them since The New York Times broke their story in February. 

The Iranian believers will face extreme persecution if returned to Iran. ICC sent an emergency petition on Ghasemzadeh’s behalf, signed by 1,302 people, to 10 refugee-friendly Western countries, including Germany, Spain, France, and Italy. 

Their case also caught the attention of U.S. Rep. (D-Ariz) Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American, who introduced the Artemis Act in Congress. The bill would stop the expedited removal of refugees fleeing countries known to persecute Christians and other religious minorities. Under the law, the refugees could claim asylum in a U.S. immigration court. 

Armenian, Assyrian, and Catholic communities exist in Iran. Yet, like other Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and beyond, Iran has strict anti-conversion laws that are punishable by imprisonment or death. Ghasemzadeh and Christian converts worshipped as part of Iran's growing underground church community. 

“In Iran, being a Christian when you’re born is OK,” Ghasemzadeh told ICC in a previous interview. “There are even beautiful churches. But if you’re a Muslim and you convert to Christianity, it’s a problem. The police want to catch you because it’s not good for [the country].” 

To read more news stories, visit the ICC Newsroom. For interviews, please email press@persecution.org.