Faruk SEVİM Wrote Human Rights Watch: Syrians arbitrarily deported
Türkçe Human Rights Watch published its report on the situation of Syrians in Turkey. For the report, Human Rights Watch interviewed 37 Syrian men and 2 Syrian boys with temporary protection in Turkey by phone or face-to-face between February and August. Human Rights Watch also interviewed 7 Syrian refugee men and one refugee woman, relatives of those deported to Northern Syria during this time. Accordingly, hundreds of Syrian men, children and adults were arbitrarily deported. The findings in the report are as follows: “37 of the interviewees were deported to Northern Syria by the Turkish authorities. All of the interviewees stated that they were deported along with tens or even hundreds of others. All said they were forced to sign forms at removal centers or at the Syrian border. They said the authorities did not allow them to read the forms and did not reveal the contents of the forms, but they understood that the forms were related to their "voluntary consent to be returned." Some said the authorities had handcuffed a portion of the form written in Arabic. Most of the interviewees stated that they saw the authorities in removal centers subject other Syrians to the same treatment. Many reported that they saw Turkish officials beating those who initially refused to sign, so they felt they had no choice but to sign. Two men, who were detained in a removal center in Adana, signed a form and stated that they were given the choice of returning to Syria or staying in administrative detention for one year. Both of them chose to leave the center because they couldn't stand the thought of being detained for a year and needed to support their families." Those who were not deported were warned not to leave their registered provinces “Some have been released and have been warned that they will be deported if they do not return to the provinces where they are registered and if they are found to be elsewhere. Others managed to contact lawyers with the intervention of family members to assist in their release. He doesn't know and is afraid of being deported. Those who were released described life in Turkey as dangerous and stated that they stayed at home with the curtains closed and acted limitedly to avoid the Turkish authorities. The deportees were taken from removal centers to the border in handcuffs during the journey, which in some cases took 21 hours. They stated that they were forcibly taken from the Öncüpınar (Bab al-Salam) or Cilvegözü (Bab al-Hawa) border gates to areas outside the Syrian government's control. A 26-year-old man from Aleppo stated that a Turkish official told him 'we will shoot anyone who tries to get back'.” In June 2022, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that 15,149 Syrians returned to Syria voluntarily this year. The following statements were included in the report of Human Rights Watch: “Human Rights Watch has focused on Syrian refugees who are covered by Turkey's temporary protection regime, but which authorities nevertheless deported or threatened to deport in 2022. All 47 Syrian refugees whose cases were investigated were without detention or detention, and in most cases at the border. Before being deported, they lived and worked in various cities in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul.All but two had temporary protection documents, called 'identities', that protected refugees from being sent back to Syria. Some also held work permits. "
