Turkey | “Refugees from Afghanistan handed over to Taliban by force’

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The İzmir Bar Association in western Turkey has detected that nearly 100 refugees from Afghanistan have been subjected to torture and ill treatment in the İzmir Removal Center and they will be deported. After the İzmir Bar received complaints via its hotline, it held some meetings.

As reported by Mezopotamya Agency (MA), the İzmir Bar has announced that it received tip-offs on April 17 that nearly 100 migrants and refugees from Afghanistan were tortured, maltreated and forced to sign "voluntary return papers". They were forced to put their thumbprints on documents to approve that they consented to the practices that were against their interests.

The Bar Association has released a written statement about the issue and said that lawyer Ayşe Kaymak from the Bar's executive board met some of the foreign nationals at the Removal Center on April 18.

The bar official has been informed that officials from the Afghanistan Consulate visited the Removal Center on April 14 and the foreigners who do not have passports were requested to sign the documents that were to be prepared to deport them to Afghanistan.

Forced to sign the papers

During the meetings of the İzmir Bar Association at the İzmir Removal Center, it was indicated that some migrants and refugees were forced to put their thumbprints on the papers against their will, they were not given their right to make a phone call and they were isolated.

The refugees and migrants held in the Removal Center said that the gendarmerie officers, who are normally only responsible for protecting the Removal Center from outside dangers, were also inside.

In its statement, the İzmir Bar Association has stressed that "even bringing these people face to face with Taliban-controlled consulate officials is against human rights" and listed the following violations of rights:

"The proceedings of deportation without receiving people's informed consent or making inquiries to understand whether every single person is one of the people that can be sent back or not are against our laws as well as the international conventions that we are a party to."

'We are ready to defend their rights'

The İzmir Bar Association has demanded that these proceedings undertaken by the İzmir Removal Center be ended immediately. It has also announced that it is "ready to assign lawyers to find out whether the refugees consented to sign the voluntary return papers in recent times."

It has also called on public prosecutors to fulfill their duty so that "the ones who cause harm to refugees through unjust practices, the perpetrators of torture and ill treatment and the public officials who neglected their duties or committed misconduct in office can be identified and penalized." (AEK/SD)