Last chance to save my family
Last chance to save my family
I am Sareh, a 32-year-old Iranian lesbian mother of two children, aged 14 and 11. I have recently emerged from a dark chapter in my life, and some of you may be familiar with my story.

Approximately three years ago, I spoke with BBC Persian in Kurdistan, Iraq, shedding light on the challenges faced as a lesbian woman and the discrimination against the LGBT+ community.

For that, I was detained and tortured for 21 days in Iraq. After posting bail to secure my temporary release, I attempted to escape from Kurdistan to seek refuge in Turkey. Unfortunately, I was apprehended at the Iran-Turkey border by the Revolutionary Guards, transferred to a prison in Urmia in Iran.

There, I was sentenced to death. Through relentless efforts and the impactful intervention of global human rights organisations, I was spared from death and eventually released.

Following my release from prison, I fled Iran to bring myself and my children to a safe country, leaving behind the rest of my family with a €40,000 bail debt. The bail amount was set so high due to the global campaign to repeal my death sentence and my subsequent release.

Now, the Islamic Republic are attempting to render my family homeless by seizing our family home in Iran to recover the bail. They are attempting to use this bail amount as a tool to silence myself and my family.

Help me collect enough money, to protect my mother in Iran.

If I don’t post the bail debt within the next three weeks, my mother will be thrown out on the streets and made to pay endlessly for protecting my freedom and the right to life.

I owe my life to individuals like you who, through your efforts and amplifying my voice globally, prevented my execution, allowing me and my children to live together once more. Today, I thank you again for your support in rescuing my family.

I express my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you and sincerely wish that no individual anywhere in the world be imprisoned or killed for simply being who they are or exercising their rights. I will continue to raise awareness and share my story in the hope that I can save others.