Ex-Miss Iran seeking asylum in Philippines says she faces 'death, execution' if extradited

Bahareh Zare Bahari, who has been at Manila's Ninoy Aquino airport for a week, was accused of assaulting an Iranian national in the Southeast Asian country.

The 31-year-old has denied the charge, saying she was falsey accused due to her past support for Iranian opposition activists and groups.

The beauty queen caused controversy last year when she waved a poster of Reza Pahlavi, the last heir apparent of Iran's deposed monarch, at last year's Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant in Manila.

"I used his photo in a beauty pageant and they are angry with me," she told Arab News. "If they deport me, they will give me at least 25 years in jail, if they do not kill me."

Bahari was held while trying to enter the Philippines on 17 October after Tehran issued an Interpol Red Notice against her.

According Bahari, who has been studying dentistry in the Philippines since 2014, Iran has tried to deport her before.

Read also: Iran arrests Instagram celebrity for 'blasphemy'

"The Iran regime tried its best to deport me nine months ago, but I was successful," she told the Philippine Star.

"Now, they make a fake case in Iran."

A spokesperson for the Philippines' justice department said Bahari's asylum application will be processed in "due time".

Human Rights Watch on Tuesday urged that the Philippines provide Bahari with assistance while her application is processed, emphasising that an Interpol Red Notice is void if its target is a refugee.

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