German Interior Ministry backs continued ban on deportations to Iran

Germany's Interior Ministry is in favour of extending the current ban on deportations to Iran due to ongoing concerns about human rights violations, according to a letter seen by dpa.
Deportations to Iran were initially halted in December 2022 due to concerns about serious human rights violations.
In Germany, these issues are handled at a state level.
The Interior Ministry's letter to the conference of interior ministers concerning extending the ban came as the deadline for the ban on deportations was to expire.
The letter, addressed to a gathering of the federal states on Friday, notes that the ministry supports continuing the ban as fears about serious human rights violations "continue to apply unchanged."
It is important that the state governments continue to act in a unified manner, the letter adds.
The ban on deportations to Iran would be extended until the end of the year.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Refugee Minister Josefine Paul also called for a nationwide extension of the ban as the human rights situation in Iran remains alarming, she told the Rheinische Post newspaper.
The Iranian government was still using brutal violence against women, men and even children who were peacefully protesting for their rights, she said on Friday.
"The daily reports of arrests, torture and mass executions leave me stunned and show the brutality of the regime in Iran."
She said deporting people to Iran would be irresponsible, given this situation.
Germany's states initially decided to halt deportations last November, after Iranians had been protesting against their political leadership for more than two months.
The mass protests, that were violently crushed, began after the death of an Iranian Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in September 2022. She died in police custody after being arrested for violating Islamic dress codes.