Iran’s Mass Deportation of Afghan Migrants Raises Concerns Over Human Rights and Family Separation

Kokcha News Agency: The head of Iran’s Association of Social Workers, Hassan Mousavi Chelik, has criticized the Iranian government’s recent mass deportations of Afghan migrants, stating that authorities have failed to properly verify the legal status of those being expelled. This has led to cases of mistaken identity, family separation, and alleged abuse during the deportation process.

Mousavi highlighted one particularly troubling case where an Iranian child was mistakenly deported as an Afghan migrant. The child’s identity was only confirmed after fingerprinting at the Iranian consulate, leading to his eventual return. Mousavi also noted instances where entire families were deported because one member lacked proper residency papers, and cases where fathers were deported while their children remained in Iran.

Tehran governor Mohammad Sadeq Motamedian reported that over the past 100 days, more than one million Afghans have been deported, including 400,000 from Tehran province alone. However, reports suggest that some of these deportations have involved violence. In one July case, an Afghan family alleged that Baqer Rezaei died under torture by Iranian officials at a detention camp in Zabol.

Rights advocates have warned that these practices risk separating families, violating human rights, and further straining relations between Iran and Afghanistan. They have called for international monitoring to ensure that deportations are conducted lawfully and humanely, with special safeguards for vulnerable groups, particularly children.