Accessibility links

Breaking News

Bulgaria Grants Asylum To Iranian Who Feared Death At Home If Deported


Alireza Beigi (file photo)
Alireza Beigi (file photo)

Bulgaria has granted asylum to Iranian citizen Alireza Beigi, who says he was given a death sentence in absentia in his homeland for renouncing Islam in favor of Christianity. Beigi fled to Bulgaria in 2022 but his initial request for asylum was rejected, and he was threatened with deportation. However, he applied a second time in 2023 after learning that he had been sentenced to death, submitting a petition in his defense signed by 2,600 people. Bulgarian authorities agreed his life was in danger and on January 31, granted him asylum. To read the full story by RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service, please click here.

  • 16x9 Image

    RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service

    RFE/RL’s Bulgarian Service relaunched in 2019 after a 15-year absence, providing independent news and original analysis to help strengthen a media landscape weakened by the monopolization of ownership and corruption.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.

To find out more, click here.

XS
SM
MD
LG