Supreme Court hearing Iranian woman’s extradition appeal

Greece’s Supreme Court on Tuesday was hearing the appeal against extradition from a 37-year-old Iranian woman who fled to Greece last summer to allegedly escape her abusive husband.

The court’s prosecutor called for her not to be extradited, saying her life is at risk.

“If I surrender to the regime, I will die and my daughter will be given to my husband. He already has plans to marry her off when she’s 9 years old,” Sarare Khandemi told judges in Athens, appealing for protection.

Khandemi fled from Iran with her 6-year-old daughter and was arrested on an international warrant after crossing the Evros border in northeastern Greece from Turkey illegally.

She admitted to having been an anti-government activist in her country, secretly filming demonstrations and sending them to television stations.

Her husband, she says, used his knowledge of her activities to get Iranian authorities to issue an international warrant for her arrest after she fled the family home.

He has also accused her of abducting their child.

Speaking in Khandemi’s defense on Tuesday, Greek writer and civil rights activist Apostolos Doxiadis told Supreme Court judges that she may face the death penalty if she’s returned to Iran.

The court is expected to deliver its ruling on October 29.