Turkey accused of forced deportations

Amnesty International report has accused Turkey of forcibly deporting Syrian refugees, tricking them into returning to a war zone.

The Turkish government claims that all those who return to Syria do so voluntarily, but Amnesty International’s research showed that many had been coerced or misled when signing so-called “voluntary return” documents.

Amnesty International documented 20 verified cases of forced deportations, each of which involved people being sent across the border on buses filled with dozens of other people who were handcuffed with plastic ties and were also seemingly being forcibly deported.

Any interaction with Turkish police or migration officials appears to put refugees from Syria at risk of detention and deportation, such as attending an interview to renew valid documents, or being asked for identification on the street.

The most common explanation given to people for their deportation is that they are unregistered or outside their province of registration. However, even people with valid IDs for their province of residence have been deported.

“Turkey’s claim that refugees from Syria are choosing to walk straight back into the conflict is dangerous and dishonest. Rather, our research shows that people are being tricked or forced into returning,” said Anna Shea, Researcher on Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International.

Turkey deserves recognition for hosting more than 3.6 million women, men and children from Syria for over eight years, but it cannot use this generosity as an excuse to flout international and domestic law by deporting people to an active conflict zone.