Young woman who rallied for liberties in Iran is now ‘looking for freedom’ from ICE detention

Melika Mohammadi Gazvar Olya fled Tehran after participating in the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests following the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in custody. After a dangerous journey across Central America, she was detained upon arrival in the US. The young Iranian asylum-seeker has been incarcerated for nearly three years in an ICE detention center near the Mexican border.