Watchdog

Iranian political activist Peyman Aref has been deported from Turkey to Lebanon after being detained by Turkish security forces, his lawyer told RFE/RL.

The reason for the December 21 expulsion was not clear.

Lawyer Sahand Azarturk told RFE/RL that Aref was detained on December 10 in Ankara for criticizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government.

Aref's wife, Sara Jamshidi, said Turkish authorities ordered him to choose between Georgia and Lebanon as a destination.

She wrote on Facebook on December 21 that Aref is now in the care of the UN in Beirut.

Aref was among students barred from studying in Iran over their activism and criticism of the Iranian establishment.

Aref was jailed in Iran in 2010 and later whipped after being convicted of charges that included spreading propaganda against the Iranian establishment and insulting Iran's president at the time, Mahmud Ahmadinejad.

Aref had been residing in Turkey since 2014 as an asylum seeker.

The Obama administration said it is scrapping U.S. regulations that once required Muslim men from 25 Muslim-majority countries to register with the government when they enter the country.

While the current administration has not enforced the program since 2011, President-elect Donald Trump has indicated he might revive it to carry out his campaign vow to require Muslim immigrants to register with the government.

The National Security Entry-Exit Registration System was enacted after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and required male foreigners over the age of 16 from more than 20 mostly Muslim countries -- including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan -- to register with U.S. immigration authorities upon arrival in the United States and at intervals after that.

The law also required them to be fingerprinted and photographed. It also required Muslim immigrants already in the country to register with the authorities and notify the government if they moved.

On December 21, Trump repeated his pledge to register and even perhaps temporarily ban Muslim immigrants. Because of the Obama administration's actions, he would have to start from scratch with such a program when he takes office next month.

Based on reporting by AP and dpa