Virtue Online:
Anglican priest faced jail and possible death had he been deported to Iran from Turkey
Anglican priest, Fr. Hekmat Salimi, his wife, and his daughter, are currently on board an aircraft flying directly to the US from Turkey escaping a deportation order issued by the Turkish government to be sent back to Iran, to likely face execution, VOL has learned.
Earlier this year in February, several news agencies picked up the story of the plight of Fr. Hekmat Salimi, an Iranian Christian convert and Anglican priest who fled Iran six years ago to Turkey, seeking asylum. The Salimi family, along with other Iranian Christians, sought asylum in Turkey and resettlement in 2015. More than four years after their arrival in Turkey, their case was finally heard in December of 2020, but their plea was rejected.