Turkey to forcibly deport 2 journalists to Syria – RSF
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Turkish authorities are to deport two Syrian journalists to their country, though both face the risk of assassination there, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Jan. 28.
RSF reported that the journalists were arrested by Turkish police despite owning temporary protection card (the so-called ‘kimlik’) and held in a refugee camp in the city of Osmaniye, in southern Turkey.
The journalists, Khaled Obeid, 31, and a second, who prefers to remain unnamed to protect himself, have been repeatedly threatened with deportation and pressured to sign documents for voluntary return, according to the report.
RSF said, citing Obeid, that he is subjected to daily interrogation sessions in which he is told he will be sent back to Syria, whether he signs the form or not.
RSF called on the Turkish government to prevent all expulsions of journalists to Syria and guarantee their safety in Turkey.
Jonathan Dagher, the head of RSF’s Middle East desk, said, “Sending them back to Syria is to send them back to imprisonment, disappearance, or even death.”
Obeid was nearly assassinated in Idlib, in northwestern Syria, in 2021.
“If I’m sent back to Syria, I will be sent to my death,” Obeid had said.
Recent reports have revealed that Turkey has carried out periodic deportations of Syrians under the pretext of committing violations and lacking documentation.