Mehrnaz Mousavis is expelled to Iran: “I will be executed”

Mehrnaz, 38, is about to be expelled to Iran, where a execution sentence is waiting.

Although she is married to a Swedish citizen and has long been a regime critic, the judiciary sees no other way out.

– Should I say “thank you for the rejection, then I go to Iran and be executed?”

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It’s February and we sit in Mehrnaz Mousavis, 38, kitchen at home in Täby.

She has appeared bowls with sweets and cookies and brewed tea that she carefully serves in glass cups garnished with small rose buds.

Taking care of people is her calling in life – and what brought her to the care profession.

– I enjoy meeting people and making them feel safe in difficult situations, that’s why I love the care, she says.

Today she works as a nurse at Danderyds Hospital.

But if the Migration Board’s deportation decision is determined, she may soon have helped her last patient.

Love brought her to Sweden

She came to Sweden from Iran 2016.

Through relatives, she had met an Iranian man in Sweden and started a distance relationship with him.

– Since we had a relationship, he applied for me to come to Sweden and live with him. We planned to get married.

Mehrnaz was granted a temporary residence permit and went to the hubby in Gothenburg.

But due to various problems, the relationship broke quickly.

Mehrnaz was suddenly in a new country without a home, jobs or contacts.

Met a new man

Then she got to know the Swedish-Iranian Pedram. Mehrnaz was at first hesitant to go into a new relationship because she just went through a breakup.

– But we became close, the friendship developed quickly and we really fell in love. It felt like that was the point.

Mehrnaz was quickly rooting in Sweden, managed SFI in five months, trained as a nurse and got a job.

Married Swedish citizen

After a time together, Mehrnaz and Pedram married March 15, 2018.

In order for the couple to be together, it was still required that Mehrnaz be granted a permanent residence permit.

After many trips, a deportation decision came in 2024 – and is still stuck.

Mehrnaz has taken the case to court – because, according to her, return to Iran would have fatal consequences.

The reason is that she has become increasingly politically active since she came to Sweden.

She has both participated in and organized demonstrations against Iran’s regime, published regime -critical texts and videos and stated in Swedish media several times.

Politically active spouse

In addition, her husband has long been politically active and a strong regime -critical voice.

– I also grew up in a family with a father who worked as a nuclear engineer for the Iranian Armed Forces. I have some knowledge of Iran’s nuclear weapons program and have stated me about it in social media.

According to Mehrnaz, rumors about her and her husband’s activities have reached her father, who in turn has indicated her.

– My mom called me and said that Dad had told me about my activities in Sweden and that a execution sentence was issued against me. If I go back to Iran, I die.

“Russian roulette to go to Iran”

Aftonbladet has not been able to verify that such a judgment exists, but according to Rouzbeh Parsi, program manager at the Middle East and North Africa program at the Foreign Policy Institute, it is possible to equate a trip to Iran for a regime critic with Russian roulette.

– Without making a statement in the specific case, it can be stated that Iran has an extremely politicized judicial system. It cannot be compared to the judiciary in a rule of law, he says.

According to Rouzbeh Parsi, it is not impossible that an exiliarania that engages politically abroad can be sentenced to very harsh punishment on a return.

But, he points out, the Iranian judiciary is notorious for his arbitrariness.

– Sometimes they release people who are sentenced to long punishments – seemingly without reason. Other times, some are punished very hard for something that does not feel proportionate at all.

“Generally dangerous”

However, he thinks it is possible to assume that a trip to Iran would not be risk -free for Mehrnaz.

– It is generally dangerous. Going back is a huge risk -taking. Iran has a number of intelligence services working on different logics. The more active and visible you have been, the greater the risk.

– But it is illogical to us what triggers them. Iran is notorious for its refugee espionage, but that does not mean that everyone has a folder on them somewhere in Tehran. It would be to exaggerate their importance and ability to keep track of everyone. That being said, you can’t be sure what happens until you have gone there.

In anticipation of her fate to be decided, Mehrnaz continues her life that revolves around jobs, activism and the process of the residence permit.

Dreaming of becoming a nurse

But the uncertainty takes its right.

– I feel very bad. Had I not had my job and my husband I might have given up. The politicians have said that a no should be accepted as a no. But when a no is about my life? Should I say “thank you for the rejection, then I go to Iran and be executed, then”? Would the politicians themselves accept a refusal if they risked torture and execution?

Mehrnaz drinks from his rose at home in the kitchen. She sighs.

If the dream of staying is fulfilled, she knows exactly what to do.

– It has been my dream to become an operating nurse in Sweden. I got a seat on the nursing program at Karolinska but had to say no because the fee is high for overseas citizens. But if I get the chance to stay, that’s what to do.

Demonstration at Mynttorget

In addition to the goal of becoming a nurse, Mehrnaz finds a lot of power in the support of friends and colleagues.

In February, her workmates organized a manifestation against the expulsion of her at Mynttorget in Stockholm.

With heart -shaped placards and reflective vests, 30 people defied the cold to show their support.

Maria, a former colleague from Södertälje Hospital, was there:

– It is terrible, completely insane to send someone out with a death sentence. I reacted with dismay, she says.

Husband Pedram was also in place at Mehrnaz side.

– It is unthinkable for my wife to go back to Iran. The Iranian regime has eyes everywhere, it is fatal.

The deportation decision is fixed

In March, Mehrnaz calls us.

The Migration Court’s decision has come: She must not stay in Sweden.

– Unfortunately, it was negative. I don’t understand. I would have liked to have gone from here and applied for asylum from another place. But I can’t, I risk dying, I have no choice.

She has just quit the job and is in the dressing room at Danderyds Hospital.

She cries on the phone, at first still but soon increasingly inconvenient.

– I feel terrible. It’s lucky to be at work, I can go straight to emergency psychiatry.

The Migration Board: “No reason to re -examine”

According to the judgment, Mehrnaz has not submitted new information that gives her case reasons to be reconsidered.

Therefore, the deportation decision still applies.

Jesper Tengroth, Press Manager at the Migration Board, explains their reasoning in an email to Aftonbladet:

“The person first came to Sweden on a connection and then rejected an extension application when the connection had ceased. The person has subsequently relied on new own protection. When the basic case was tested, the person was judged not made it likely that she needed international protection. The Migration Court, which has tried the case, has been on the same line.

The latest case concerns an application for enforcement barriers. When assessing enforcement barriers, the Migration Board can only test new circumstances that have not been up for trial in court before. In the latest case where they were announced this week, neither the Migration Board nor the Migration Court have considered that new circumstances have emerged, which could cause a new trial of the case. ”

Plans to appeal

The day after Merhnaz got the verdict, she has gathered but still feels bad.

– I went to work today, but didn’t feel so good. My boss asked me to take time off for the rest of the week, she says.

Now she gathers power to move on to the next instance.

– We will appeal to the Migration High Court. The last, last, last step is the European Court of Justice. I want to continue to fight but every time I get rejected it feels hopeless.