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Turkey Frees Detained Iranian Activist

Maryam Shariatmadari. Asharq Al-Awsat
Maryam Shariatmadari. Asharq Al-Awsat
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Turkey Frees Detained Iranian Activist

Maryam Shariatmadari. Asharq Al-Awsat
Maryam Shariatmadari. Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkish authorities released Iranian activist Maryam Shariatmadari, who was detained in western Turkey on Sept. 7 on the grounds that her visa had expired.

Shariatmadari faced the threat of deportation back to Iran, which would be risky considering the conditions she left under.

A vocal critic of Iran’s hijab mandate, Shariatmadari was sentenced to prison with a group of women in 2017.

Turkish authorities were forced to free the activist after the Denizli Bar Association intervened during her detention, noting that she would have a month-long grace period to leave the country in the case of a visa expiration.

Turkish authorities were also pressured by the far-reaching social media campaign that denounced Shariatmadari’s arrest. Women rights groups in Turkey and abroad called for the Iranian activist’s immediate release.

Shariatmadari was one of several Iranian women who protested against compulsory hijab in Iran by removing and waving her headscarf in Enghelab (Revolution) Street in the capital Tehran. These women came to be known as the “girls of revolution street.”

The Iranian judiciary sentenced Shariatmadari to one year in prison for “encouraging corruption by removing the hijab.”

Shariatmadari managed to flee to Turkey after being detained for a few days in Iran.

In other news, Turkey and Iran agreed to take joint actions against the activities of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and its affiliation in Iran, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), along their common borders.

“Both sides emphasized that it is incumbent upon both countries to fully utilize the existing cooperation mechanisms against the activities of PKK/PJAK elements and the other terrorist organizations along the common borders and to take coordinated steps for result-oriented cooperation, including joint operations, in countering terrorism and organized crime,” said a joint declaration issued following the 6th Turkey-Iran High-Level Cooperation Council meeting.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for over 30 years.

The teleconference meeting was co-chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

Ankara and Tehran also reiterated commitment to developing new economic cooperation areas to reverse contraction in bilateral trade volume, which arose from adverse global conditions, including the negative impacts of the COVID-19 disease, by fully utilizing available mechanisms, according to the statement.

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6 Americans Detained for Trying to Send Rice and Bibles to North Korea by Sea

FILE - Neighborhoods of North Korea's Kaepoong village are seen from the observation post in Ganghwa, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - Neighborhoods of North Korea's Kaepoong village are seen from the observation post in Ganghwa, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
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20
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6 Americans Detained for Trying to Send Rice and Bibles to North Korea by Sea

FILE - Neighborhoods of North Korea's Kaepoong village are seen from the observation post in Ganghwa, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
FILE - Neighborhoods of North Korea's Kaepoong village are seen from the observation post in Ganghwa, near the border with North Korea, South Korea, Feb. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

Six Americans were detained Friday in South Korea for trying to send 1,600 plastic bottles filled with rice, US dollars bills and Bibles toward North Korea by sea, police said.

The Americans tried to throw the bottles into the sea from front-line Gwanghwa Island so they could float toward North Korean shores by the tides, said a police officer who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to media on the issue. According to The Associated Press, he said they are being investigated on allegations they violated the law on the management of safety and disasters.

A second South Korean police officer confirmed the detentions of the Americans.
The police officers gave no further details, including whether any of the six had made previous attempts to send bottles toward North Korea.

Activists floating plastic bottles or flying balloons carrying anti-North Korea propaganda leaflets across the border has long caused tensions on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea expressed its anger at the balloon campaigns by launching its own balloons carrying trash into South Korea, including at least two that landed in the presidential compound in Seoul last year.

In 2023, South Korea’s Constitutional Court struck down a 2020 law that criminalized the sending of leaflets and other items to North Korea, calling it an excessive restriction on free speech.

But since taking office in early June, the new liberal government of President Lee Jae Myung is pushing to crack down on such civilian campaigns with other safety-related laws to avoid a flare-up in tensions with North Korea and promote the safety of frontline South Korean residents.

On June 14, police detained an activist for allegedly flying balloons toward North Korea from Gwanghwa Island.

Lee took office with a promise to restart long-dormant talks with North Korea and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula. Lee's government halted frontline anti-Pyongyang propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts to try to ease military tensions. North Korean broadcasts have not been heard in South Korean front-line towns since then.

But it's unclear if North Korea will respond to Lee's conciliatory gesture after it vowed last year to sever relations with South Korea and abandon the goal of peaceful Korean reunification. Official talks between the Koreas have been stalled since 2019 when the US-led diplomacy on North Korean denuclearization derailed.