1. Executive Summary
This comprehensive investigation examines various practices that amount to torture and ill-treatment, including physical beatings. These actions are carried out by Turkish police (Polis), private security personnel (Özel Güvenlik), and the Turkish gendarmerie/border guards (Jandarma) against detainees in a range of facilities. These facilities include detention and deportation centers, police stations, Turkish immigration offices (Göç İdaresi), and camps that were previously used to house Syrian refugees. Many of these camps have since been repurposed by Turkish authorities into detention centers where Syrian refugees, including those categorized as under “temporary protection” in Türkiye, are held before being deported back to Syria.
Investigations by Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) have revealed the deaths of five Syrian refugees. Among them were two elderly individuals who died due to malnutrition, lack of adequate healthcare, and severe psychological distress. Additionally, a Syrian child, no older than 17, passed away after being denied his medication for kidney failure and being prevented from eating, drinking, or using the bathroom for over a day. Furthermore, two young men lost their lives in detention centers: one as a result of torture and beatings, and the other due to malnutrition.
All 19 individuals interviewed by STJ for this report experienced severe psychological pressure, including threats and physical violence such as beatings and mistreatment. Additionally, they witnessed extreme violence that instilled fear in them, which led them to submit to signing “voluntary return” forms for deportation to Syria, which seemed to be voluntary.”
2. Methodology
For this investigation, STJ interviewed 19 former detainees from Turkish detention centers. 17 of these individuals were deported to northwestern Syria, one was released after four months from a detention center in the city of Şanlıurfa, and a young woman was freed from a prison in Izmir.
The interviews with witnesses took place between July 2024 and early October 2024 using secure internet communication applications, and all participants provided their informed consent. They were made aware of how their information would be used, including its publication in this investigation, and were informed of the potential risks they faced. As a result, all interviewees chose to conceal their identities and any information that could reveal them to avoid potential reprisals from Türkiye or from Syrian military groups collaborating with it in northern Syria, such as the Syrian National Army (SNA) of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces (SNRC).
In addition to the testimonies, STJ examined numerous open-source media reports, human rights investigations, and social media posts that documented the conditions of detention, including instances of beatings and mistreatment in Turkish deportation centers. They also verified documents shared privately by sources for further confirmation.
Note: This investigation was completed on the eve of the fall of the Syrian regime; therefore, STJ decided to wait and publish it in 2025.
3. Background
In 2018, the Turkish authorities intensified forced deportations to northern Syria, and this trend has continued to increase in subsequent years. According to the latest statistics from the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management, the number of Syrian refugees under temporary protection has decreased from 3,642,786 to 3,085,056.[1]
The Turkish authorities are deporting individuals to Syria through four border crossings: Bab al-Salama, Tell Abyad, Bab al-Hawa, and Jarabulus. STJ have gathered data on the number of deportees from the beginning of 2024 until the end of December 2024 from private sources connected to the border crossings with Türkiye. This number has reached 85,202 individuals.
Image 1 – A map showing the border crossings used for the deportation of Syrian refugees, along with the number of deportees during 2024.
Image 2 – A chart showing the number of Syrian refugees forcibly deported from Türkiye in 2024.
The Bab al-Hawa crossing connects to the Idlib Governorate, which is controlled by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). Additionally, both the Bab al-Hawa and Jarabulus crossings lead to various areas in the northern Aleppo countryside, which are controlled by Turkish military forces and allied SNA factions. The Tell Abyad crossing provides access to the Tell Abyad region, which is also governed by Türkiye and the SNA.
Forced deportation is a serious violation of the rights of Syrian refugees, but it is not the only one. During the deportation process, Syrian detainees face practices that amount to torture, including beatings, mistreatment, and psychological distress in detention centers. This report specifically focuses on these abusive practices.
In 2024, testimonies indicated that thousands of Syrian refugees and other asylum seekers were detained in three main centers. These were the Şanlıurfa Detention Center in Şanlıurfa, the Tuzla Detention Center in Istanbul, and the Oğuzeli Detention Center in Gaziantep.
There were approximately 2,500 detainees at the Oğuzeli Center, about 2,000 at the Şanlıurfa Center, and around 600 at the Tuzla Center. Additionally, witnesses among the detainees reported on the internal layout of the buildings, describing overcrowding and poor conditions of detention. They highlighted issues such as the prevalence of skin diseases, an abundance of insects and rats, and a lack of proper healthcare and cleaning in the rooms.
During the investigative interviews, several witnesses confirmed seeing numerous items bearing the European Union (EU) logo, including sleeping mats, blankets, and other materials. Information obtained from 19 Syrians, who were denied the right to meet with their legal representatives or contact their families, indicates that their mobile phones were confiscated immediately upon their arrest. According to testimonies, they were only allowed to use the detention center’s phone for ten minutes daily at the Oğuzeli detention center in Gaziantep. This evidence contradicts the repeated statements made by the Turkish Presidency of Migration Management.[2]
To read the full report in PDF format, click here. (37 pages).
[1] “Temporary Protection” (in Turkish), Turkish Presidency of Migration Management, 7 November 2024, https://www.goc.gov.tr/gecici-koruma5638 (last accessed: 16 November 2024).
[2] “Press Release on Untrue Claims Regarding Istanbul Çatalca Repatriation Center” (in Turkish), Turkish Presidency of Migration Management, 2 November 2024, https://www.goc.gov.tr/istanbul-catalca-geri-gonderme-merkezi-ile-ilgili-gercek-disi-iddialar-hakkinda-basin-aciklamasi (last accessed: 15 November 2024).