Iranian activist deported to Central African Republic despite court protection from removal to Iran
Sep 1, 2026·Location: LA
Country of origin: Iran

An Iranian woman in her early thirties, a pro-democracy activist who said she had been threatened by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, fled Iran, crossed the Darién Gap, and arrived in the U.S. at the end of 2024, where a judge granted her legal protection from being deported back to Iran after finding she had credible fear of persecution. Despite that protection, she was deported on June 12, 2026, from Louisiana to the Central African Republic on a flight carrying roughly two dozen migrants from countries including Jordan, Armenia, Turkey, Georgia, and Afghanistan, under the Trump administration's third-country deportation agreements. Her attorney, Emily Trostle, said she was left in a country where she has no status, no connection, and no support network. She now lives in isolation, afraid to leave her apartment, and says local police have extorted her for cash. Her family said she could be killed if ever returned to Iran, and she fears execution if her situation changes once her temporary visa expires. Two other Iranian women originally scheduled for the same flight, whose asylum claims had been denied under a transit rule later vacated by a California federal court, received emergency court orders temporarily halting their removal.
Timeline
Sources
- Iranian woman among migrants deported from the US to the Central African Republic
NBC News·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- The Hill
- Migrants deported from US, including an Iranian woman, arrive in Central African Republic
Associated Press·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
audacy.com·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- New York Times
- ICE deporting Iranian asylum seekers to Africa is ‘a death sentence,’ lawyers say
independent.co.uk·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
independent.co.uk·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- US Deportation Flight Heads to Central Africa Republic
newscentraltv.com·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- Iranian woman among migrants deported from the U.S. to the Central African Republic
ctvnews.ca·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- US deports migrants, including Iranian activist, to CAR
dw.com·Jun 13, 2026·archived copy
- Seattle Times
- U.S. deports migrants from Afghanistan, Iran to Central African Republic
aol.com·Jun 12, 2026·archived copy
- ‘Super dangerous’: US deports female Iranian pro-democracy activist to Central African Republic, lawyer says
straitstimes.com·Jun 12, 2026
- prismnews.com
- U.S. Deports Thousands to Countries They Don’t Know Under Secretive “Third Country” Deal
Democracy Now·Sep 1, 2026
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