“They told me: ‘We’re going to kill you. We’re going to make you silent.’” Iranian activist Ellie Borhan says that for her, London is no longer safe. Borhan came to London from Iran 20 years ago, to build a life she once saw as a sanctuary and safety, beyond the reach of the Iranian state. That sense of distance, she says, has disappeared. She now feels she is at high risk. By spending the past four years campaigning against the Iranian regime, both from the UK and internationally through organisations including the UN, she has drawn attention and surveillance from Tehran — and while responsive, there is only so much that the British authorities can do about it.
The messages targeting Borhan, which started in 2022, arrived in waves through WhatsApp and anonymous accounts on Instagram, referencing locations, routines and people close to her. The threats extended beyond her.
