Iranian dancer in Turkey says she believes protests will end Tehran's 'cruelty'

Mikaeil Alizadeh, also known by her stage name Leo, an Iranian belly dancer living in Turkey, performs at a restaurant in Istanbul, Turkey October 14, 2022. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Mikaeil Alizadeh decided to move to Turkey from Iran in 2015 after receiving threats for being gender-fluid and fearing she would be jailed for being a dancer. Now she believes the anti-government protests will lead to the end of Tehran's "cruelty."

Alizadeh, 33, who goes by the stage name Leo, is one of hundreds of Iranians who have attended protests in Turkey triggered by the death last month of a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman while in the custody of Iran's morality police.