Turkey arbitrarily arrests, deports Syrians – HRW
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday Turkey arbitrarily arrested, detained and deported hundreds of Syrian refugees to Syria between February and July.
The HRW, in a report, citing deported Syrians, said that Turkish authorities arrested Syrian refugees, including children in their homes, workplaces, and on the street, detained them in poor conditions, forced them to sign voluntary return forms, and forced them to cross to northern Syria at “gunpoint.”
On May 3, Erdogan announced a plan to encourage the return of 1 million Syrian refugees to 13 areas occupied by Turkey in northern Syria.
“It will cover all needs of daily life, from housing to schools and hospitals, as well as a self-sufficient economic infrastructure from agriculture to industry,” Erdogan claimed.
On May 6, Turkish Interior Minister Suleiman Soylu revealed Turkey’s intention to build about 250,000 housing units in northern Syria, as part of his country’s plan to resettle Turkey-based Syrian refugees.
The deportations provide a stark counterpoint to Turkey’s generosity although the EU has provided Turkey with billions of Euros in funding for humanitarian support and migration management, according to the HRW report.
It added, citing deported Syrians, that the Syrian refugees were forced to sign forms, without allowing them to read it before they were deported.
However, the deported refugees all said they knew that the forms included their allegedly agreeing to a voluntary repatriation.
Those who refused to sign were beaten by Turkish officials, who gave them two choices either to sign the form and go back to Syria or be detained for a year, according to deported Syrians.
They described life in Turkey as dangerous, saying that they used to stay at homes to avoid being arrested by the Turkish authorities.
The HRW noted in its report, citing the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, “15,149 Syrian refugees had voluntarily returned to Syria so far this year.”
“Between February and August 2022, 11,645 people were returned through Bab al-Hawa and 8,404 through Bab al-Salam,” according to the UNHCR reports.
“Turkey is bound by treaty and customary international law to respect the principle of nonrefoulement, which prohibits the return of anyone to a place where they would face risks or a threat to life,” the HRW added.
In addition, recently, xenophobic attacks against foreigners have increased in Turkey, most notably against Syrians.
Some refugees said they were arrested because of complaints or spurious allegations from neighbors or employers, “ranging from making too much noise to being a terrorist.”
The deported Syrians said that they were insulted and beaten by the Turkish officials in the “removal centers” before deportation.
Some Syrians are originated from government-controlled areas and they cannot cross from the opposition-controlled areas in the country north to their places, fearing being arrested by the government agencies, the report read.
In October 2021, HRW said “Syrian refugees who returned to Syria between 2017 and 2021 from Lebanon and Jordan faced grave human rights abuses and persecution at the hands of the Syrian government and affiliated militias, demonstrating that Syria is not safe for returns.”
The reported highlighted that while active hostilities have decreased in recent years, the Syrian government has continued to inflict the same abuses onto citizens.
In September, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria once again concluded that Syria is not safe for returns.
“Over 13 million Syrians needed humanitarian assistance as of early 2021. Millions of people in northeast and northwest Syria, many of whom are internally displaced, rely on the cross-border flow of food, medicine, and other lifesaving assistance,” according to the report.
International reports say Turkey shelters over 3.6 million Syrians and is the world’s largest refugee-hosting country.