Former Miss Iran Bahari was held at the Philippines' Manila International Airport for nearly a week while seeking asylum for fear of being "killed or imprisoned" when she returned home.

Bahareh Zare Bahari on October 26 said Iranian citizens in the Philippines allegedly attacked her, prompting Iranian authorities to issue a red notice about her to Interpol. As a result, Bahari was detained at the airport trying to enter the country on October 17.

Bahari said she feared she would be extradited to Tehran, then "killed or imprisoned". She showed support for activists opposed to the Iranian government, especially at last year's Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant in Manila when she waved a poster featuring Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran. ever criticized the regime.

"I used his picture in a beauty pageant and they were angry with me," she told Arab News. "If deported, they will kill me or put me in prison for at least 25 years."

Bahari said she has been studying dentistry in the Philippines since 2014, arriving and leaving the country several times before being blocked at the airport last week. "Iran tried hard to get me home nine months ago but I succeeded. Now they fabricate a case," she told Philstar.

Iran has not yet commented on the incident.

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said that while awaiting the investigation, no action will be taken against Bahari according to the red notice that Iran sent to Interpol. In particular, according to Interpol regulations, the red notice is invalid in case the person named in the notice becomes a refugee fleeing the country that issued the notice.

A spokesman for the Philippines Justice Department said Bahari's asylum application will be processed in accordance with the law.