The Iranian men who walked for days to reach Germany

The 2022 anti-government uprising in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, led to a significant increase in people fleeing the country.

The young Kurdish woman died in police custody after she had been arrested for allegedly improperly wearing a hijab. The Islamic theocratic regime responded to the months-long mass protests by enforcing a harsh and violent clampdown. Security forces killed over 500 people and detained more than 20,000, rights groups say. The United NationsIran: UN exposes 'crimes' committed against protesters condemned these actions as "crimes against humanity."

Oppression in Iran

Milad, who asked not to reveal his last name, is a critic of the Iranian regime.

The 35-year-old said he had regularly participated in anti-government protests since 2008 and faced severe repression.

He accused the Iranian security forces of shooting him in the eye during the 2022 demonstrations, resulting in the loss of sight in one eye. Milad was also allegedly assaulted while in detention and released only after signing a pledge to cease his protest activities.

Omid, who also did not want to reveal his last name, 28, said he had a similar experience.

A former police officer, he told DW that he was dismissed in 2017 for refusing to take part in the oppression by Iran's security forces, including the Basij religious militia, a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to the clerical establishment that is often used to crack down on anti-government protests.

"I played an important role by not participating in the oppression of my people," Omid said.

Escaping Tehran

Both Omid and Milad left Iran in March 2023, flying from Tehran to Istanbul.

Omid said he had decided to flee after being arrested twice and assaulted. "I escaped with the help of my father, who was a soldier," he said. "The second time I was arrested, my friend tipped off my father, who is now retired. He used his influence to set me free. After this, I left the country."

Once in Turkey, they made their way to Greece. "The journey from Turkey to Greece was four days and nights on foot. We spent ten minutes on a boat and walked until we reached a point of rest," Milad said in a phone call from the German city of Mainz, where he is currently living.

After reaching Greece, Milad took a bus. "From this point on, I took a bus with one person from Afghanistan who took money and gave us shelter for one night during the journey."

Omid recounted surviving without food for three days in Greece. "I survived only on the water collected on the leaves and swamps. It was very hard," he said, adding: "The soles of my feet were scarred. I was thinking of living freely again all the way, and that kept me going."

"In total, we crossed 10 or 11 borders," Milad said, speaking for both him and Omid, with troubling encounters with the police at almost every border.

For Milad, the hardest checkpoint was in Serbia. "The police caught me more than six times there."

"When I narrate it, it seems easy, and we can just go over these details quickly... But it was not easy then. We slept in a garbage bag — this was the only 'blanket' I had. It was raining, and I didn't want to get wet. It was a really, really hard time," Milad recalled.

"We only had a rucksack with us, a few nuts, and two bottles of water. It couldn't be heavy because we couldn't walk otherwise."

Omid's toughest checkpoint was in Croatia. The police there allegedly threatened him, saying, "We will send you back to Iran."

Reaching Germany and applying for asylum

From Serbia onward, Omid joined the group Milad was part of. "We walked onward to Germany together," he said, overcome with exhaustion as he recalled the arduous trek.

At the end of their treacherous journey, Omid and Milad arrived in Germany.

Omid noted that, unlike at other border control checkpoints, the German police received them well. "The treatment here was completely humane and good," he said.

Milad agreed, saying: "I feel really safe in this country."

Like many others, they've applied for asylum and now lead normal lives in Germany.

Omid expressed hope that the German government would continue to support Iranians who were forced to flee.

"They were forced to flee their homes, their homeland, their families, and their possessions to save their lives," he said.

Iran has a reformist president. Could he make a difference?

The social and political situation in Iran has worsened since the protests following Jina Mahsa Amini's death.

Many protesters, including teenagers, face persecution and long prison sentences.

The Islamic clerical establishment's crackdown on women's and human rights has led many to flee the country despite high risks.

But with the recent election of a president who is considered a reformist, Masoud Pezeshkian, there has been speculation as to how things will change in the country.

During the campaign, the 69-year-old vowed to build trust between a "possible moderate government" and the population but promised no radical changes.

Moreover, in the Islamic Republic's political system, the president is not the head of state but only the head of government, elected by popular vote.

Most authority lies with the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  

Ighan Shahidi, an Iranian researcher at the University of Cambridge, told DW last month he doesn't expect any improvement in Iran in terms of human rights, especially for women and persecuted religious minorities like the Bahai community, even under Pezeshkian's presidency.

"What is clear is that there are directives and regulations issued by other high-ranking organizations and institutions of the Iranian government, such as the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, that have led to the violations of the rights of the Iranian people," he pointed out.

"The president doesn't seem to have the authority or ability to achieve any changes or improvements in such cases."

Feeling safe in Germany

As long as the Islamic regime continues to oppress people's basic rights, activists say, persecuted and disenchanted Iranians will continue to undertake perilous journeys to escape the persecution.  

For dissidents who have fled, these journeys come at great personal risk, as in the case of Milad and Omid, who are just two among hundreds to have escaped in recent years.

Both emphasized that the closure of Islamic centers by the German government, particularly those associated with Iran, added to their sense of safety.

"Especially now that the German government has closed Islamic centers and is dealing with Iran, my request, and that of all the people of Iran, is to put Sepah on the terrorist list," he said, referring to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is charged with defending the nation's clerical regime.

Edited by: Srinivas Mazumdaru