IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Ahmad al-Khattab spent four nights in one of the Turkish deportation centers after his failure to cross the Syria-Turkish border, north of Idlib, where he was subjected to torture and abuse by the Turkish Border Guards (gendarmerie).
Al-Khattab displaced two years ago from his town in the Shahshabo Mountain, west of Hama, to the Qah Camps, north of Idlib. He decided to take refuge in Turkey illegally due to his bad living conditions hoping that he would find a good job opportunity that will help him support his family.
However, the moment he arrived at the Turkish border, he found members of gendarmerie awaiting for him where they tortured and insulted him by all means.
“They beat me with a metal stick without mercy, not to mention insulting me during the period of detention,” al-Khattab said.
After being beaten and insulted, al-Khattab preferred to stay with his family in the camp over asylum in Turkey.
The military operation that northwest Syria witnessed in April 2019, which continued until early 2020, forced about two million people from the countryside of Hama, Aleppo and Idlib to displace, according to press reports.
In early November 2015, Turkey closed its border to the Syrians by building a cement wall along the bordering line from the countryside of Latakia, Idlib and Aleppo to the countryside of Hasakah, in addition to deploying its forces along the bordering line.
Torture and humiliation
Fou’ad al-Fajr’s story is not so different, where he delivered his temporary protection ID card (Kimlik) to a police station in al-Rihaniya city to return to Idlib after his work has suspended in Turkey.
“They do not have mercy or compassion,” he said.
He entered Turkey officially with a passport five years ago. However, he was surprised when the police handed him over to the gendarmerie and detained him at a deportation center for more than a week.
Al-Fajr was subjected to the worst treatment, “not to mention the torture and heavy beating by the Turkish soldiers.”
The number of Syrian refugees registered within the temporary protecting system in Turkey is 3,665,946, according to a statistic by the Syrian Refugees Association issued in May 17.
The Turkish forces gather citizens who try to enter the Turkish territories illegally in deportation centers near the Syrian-Turkish borders until their number reaches 100.
Then, the gendarmerie sends them by buses to the Syrian territories through Bab al-Hawa crossing which is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), according to al-Fajr.
Torture to death
Most of those who try to enter the Turkish territories resort to dangerous smuggling routes in light of unavailability of other routes to reunite with their families and secure a job that meets their needs.
Bassel Hamdo Haj Mousa, who was displaced from Bazabour village, south of Idlib, lost his life under torture by the gendarmerie while he was passing the Turkish borders illegally on May 20.
A medical report cited a medical point in the countryside of Idlib that Mousa was subjected to severe torture included “whipping and ironing with hot metal pieces”, according to Samir al-Hilal, a pseudonym for one of the deceased’s relatives.
“Mousa headed to Turkey in order to work to secure his children’s needs, whom he left in a camp in north of Idlib,” he added.
“Since the beginning of May, we have documented more than 50 cases subjected to torture and beating in the Turkish deportation centers, including children,” Abdulrahman al-Omar, a pseudonym for a worker documenting violationsin northern Syria told North Press.
Since the beginning of 2021, four people were killed under torture by the gendarmerie, according to al-Omar.
He mentioned that the statistics exceed the announced numbers due to the difficulty to document all the violations committed by the gendarmerie inside the deportation and accommodation centers.