A woman lived in an airport for two months just like in Tom Hanks movie The Terminal.
Shiva Kaviani lives in Toronto, Canada, but was visiting her country of origin Iran when her nightmare ordeal began.
The academic was hit with a political ban by the mullahs in Tehran, according to local media.
The researcher crossed the border from Iran into Turkey and travelled to Istanbul Airport to fly back to Canada.
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However, her trip ground to a halt when she was denied a new visa because her Canadian residency permit had expired.
She’s now been living at Istanbul Airport for two months, just like Tom Hanks’s character in the 2004 Steven Spielberg film The Terminal.
Dr Kaviani has been living out of one suitcase and one bag as she wanders forlornly around the transit zone.
Her negotiations with the Consulate General of Canada have reportedly hit a dead end.
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Dr Kaviani, a vegetarian, has reportedly been struggling to eat and struggling to sleep on the hard airport chairs.
The white-haired scholar has also been unable to shower and has developed wounds on her feet, local media report.
Although airport staff have been assisting her, the authorities are reportedly planning to move her to another location amid concerns for her health.
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Her situation’s been compared to the film The Terminal about an Eastern European man who gets stuck in New York’s JFK Airport.
He’s denied entry to the US but can’t return to his home country because of a military coup.
The mullahs in Tehran have been persecuting students and academics for their activism and views for years, say human rights organisations.
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