{"id":25690,"date":"2024-08-22T11:51:17","date_gmt":"2024-08-22T08:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stj-sy.org\/turkiye-misleading-statements-by-foreign-minister-regarding-forced-return-of-syrian-refugees\/"},"modified":"2024-08-22T13:23:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-22T10:23:03","slug":"turkiye-misleading-statements-by-foreign-minister-regarding-forced-return-of-syrian-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stj-sy.org\/en\/turkiye-misleading-statements-by-foreign-minister-regarding-forced-return-of-syrian-refugees\/","title":{"rendered":"T\u00fcrkiye: Misleading Statements by Foreign Minister Regarding Forced Return of Syrian Refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, in Istanbul on July 14, 2024, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan denied<\/a> any allegations of forced deportation of Syrians in T\u00fcrkiye, stating, “We will not force anyone to leave here unless they do so voluntarily. The provocative allegations on this issue are completely unfounded.“<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Turkish minister made these allegations following a large-scale security campaign launched by T\u00fcrkiye in Gaziantep in late June 2024. The campaign involved deploying over 60 checkpoints in markets, malls, shops, and transportation hubs. This information was reported<\/a> by the Syria TV website, citing sources from inside the city.<\/p>\n

Enab Baladi newspaper highlighted<\/a> the growing fears among Syrians in the city, even those with legal papers, due to the spread of information about the deportation of individuals who are under the temporary protection system. Their failure to carry their identification card (kimlik<\/em>) at the time of their arrest has led to their deportation without Turkish police officers adhering to the provisions of the law<\/a> that prohibit forced return (Article No. 6).<\/p>\n

After the \u201cKayseri incidents,\u201d during which Syrian property in the city was widely and unprecedentedly attacked following the spread of false information alleging that a Syrian refugee had harassed a five-year-old Turkish girl, the Karar Haber<\/a> newspaper published a statement on 18 July 2024, by the head of the Turkish human rights organization Mazlumder<\/a>, Ahmet Tash. In the statement, Tash claimed that the Turkish authorities had detained around 150 Syrian families in a detention center in Kayseri, citing complaints against them, intending to deport them to Syria. Subsequently, Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) confirmed from reliable sources that a number of these families had indeed been forcibly deported to Syria.<\/p>\n

According to statistics STJ obtained from sources in charge of the border crossings linking Turkish territory to northern Syria, the Turkish government deported approximately 57,000 people during the first seven months of 2024. Specifically, the number of deportees from the Tell Abyad crossing reached 12,016 people; from the Bab al-Hawa crossing, 14,603 Syrians; from the Bab al-Salam crossing, 18,601 people; and from the Jarabulus crossing, 11,852 Syrians.<\/p>\n

It is important to note that a source familiar with the operation of the Bab al-Salam crossing informed<\/a> STJ in 2023 that the Turkish authorities had specifically asked border crossings to stop using the term \u201cforced deportation\u201d and replace it with \u201cvoluntary return.\u201d Later on, they requested the use of the term \u201cleaving Turkish territory,\u201d which encompasses several categories: forced return, voluntary return, and return after attempted smuggling.<\/p>\n

The Turkish minister’s statements contradict the information obtained by STJ based on direct testimonies obtained from Syrian refugees who were forcibly deported from T\u00fcrkiye despite having temporary protection cards (kimlik<\/em>). This proves the falsity and inaccuracy of these statements. Additionally, in March 2024, Human Rights Watch (HRW) documented<\/a> the deportation of thousands of Syrians from T\u00fcrkiye to areas where “dire humanitarian conditions” prevail. They were pressured to sign \u201cvoluntary return\u201d papers and leave the country, which refutes the Turkish minister’s statements that Syrian refugees are not being forcibly deported.<\/p>\n

Testimonies obtained by STJ indicate that forced return operations have led to deportees being separated from their families in T\u00fcrkiye and finding themselves in a difficult situation in northern Syria without job opportunities. Sources reported that during their detention, entire families, including children and women, were detained with the intent of forcibly returning them to northern Syria.<\/p>\n

Several Syrian organizations issued a joint statement<\/a> condemning acts of violence and incitement against Syrian refugees in T\u00fcrkiye. They urged the Turkish government to fulfill its national and international obligations regarding the protection of human rights, especially for refugees and displaced persons within its borders. The statement also called on T\u00fcrkiye to adhere to the principle of non-refoulement, which guarantees that no one should be returned to countries experiencing conflict. Additionally, other organizations called for<\/a> the European Union (EU) to cease funding and supporting violations of Syrian refugees’ rights in T\u00fcrkiye and to impose immediate sanctions on Turkish political parties and individuals involved in hate speech targeting Syrian and other refugees in T\u00fcrkiye.<\/p>\n

This report is based on six detailed, first-hand testimonies obtained by STJ researchers online in July 2023. The sources were informed that the interviews were voluntary and were told how the information they provided would be used, including in this report. Five of the sources preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of their testimonies, while one source, a journalist, agreed to provide explicit information. Importantly, all the witnesses are holders of kimliks<\/em>.<\/p>\n