Ali-Asghar Haqdar, Istanbul-based Writer, Transferred to Refugee Camp

Ali-Asghar Haqdar, a writer and researcher on the Constitutional Revolution, has been detained in Istanbul, Turkey, since June 14 and has been transferred to a refugee camp. On Tuesday, June 18, Mr. Haqdar confirmed his detention to a Radio Farda reporter from the "Arnavutköy" camp near Istanbul. Previously, his lawyer had confirmed the news of his detention, which had been published by some of his friends. According to Mr. Haqdar's account to Radio Farda, Turkish police detained a large number of foreign nationals residing in Istanbul from various nationalities by checking their passports on the street on the evening of June 14. The police cited reasons such as unregistered passports or the nearing expiration date of passports during the detentions. Mr. Haqdar stated that the police initially told him that his passport was nearing expiration and later said it needed to be checked for registration. Due to the 10-day holiday for Eid al-Adha in Turkey, the lawyers of the detainees are unable to approach judicial authorities and file complaints. Omar Fawraq Kaja, Mr. Haqdar's lawyer, stated that he would visit the judicial authorities to file a complaint next Monday after the holiday. However, Mr. Haqdar expressed concern in his conversation with Radio Farda that, given the history of widespread deportations from this refugee camp, he could be returned to Iran at any moment. This writer and researcher on the Constitutional Revolution has lived in Turkey for 13 years and collaborates with academic and cultural institutions in the country in the field of history. He left Iran in 2010 following the intensification of repression after the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential election. At that time, a pamphlet titled "Colorful Whispers" was circulated on social media, allegedly prepared in collaboration with the Ministry of Intelligence, listing several publishers, writers, and translators, including Ali-Asghar Haqdar. This pamphlet claimed that these individuals were engaged in cultural groundwork for a "soft war" in line with the "goals of the seditionists" (a term used by government supporters for the supporters of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi). After leaving Iran, Mr. Haqdar applied for asylum at the United Nations office in Istanbul. In 2013, he also received the "Hellman/Hammett" award for freedom of expression and human rights from Human Rights Watch. This writer has published dozens of books and articles on the history of the Constitutional Revolution and bibliography.