ACHRS Statement: Turkish Authorities Pressure and Deport Turkmen Nationals
Turkish consular officials have increased the illegal expulsion of Turkmen nationals from Turkish territory in recent months. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies condemns the forced expulsions of Turkmen nationals and the deterioration of their treatment. ACHRS calls on Turkish authorities to respect their international legal obligations by ensuring the protection of the rights and freedoms of Turkmen nationals residing in Turkey.
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A November report from Human Rights Watch highlighted the deterioration of Turkmen nationals’ rights within Turkey. Turkey has more than one million Turkmen nationals, who are supposed to be able to reside there without a visa. In particular, the report notes an increase in refusals by Turkmen consulates abroad to renew passports for Turkmen nationals, forcing them to leave Turkey or host countries and return to Turkmenistan. These practices are contrary to both Turkmen law and international law.
The report also reveals an increase in the number of threats of deportation of peaceful Turkmen activists who were protesting against these practices, as well as the number of arbitrary detentions of Turkmen civilian activists by Turkish police. However, Human Rights Watch found that when detaining Turkmen nationals, Turkish police referred to a list of 25 people that was given to them by the Turkmenistan consulate with a request to detain and expel them. If they return to Turkmenistan, deported Turkmen nationals also face the threat of arbitrary detention and repression, which is applied to opponents of the Turkmen government.
Rachal Denber, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch stated, “Turkmenistan has a long history of harshly punishing peaceful critics of the government. Returning activists to Turkmenistan would put them at serious risk of persecution, including torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance. Turkey must abide by its international obligations not to send the men to places where they could be mistreated.”
According to the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, the principle of non-refoulement says that “No Contracting State shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”
ACHRS condemns the arbitrary expulsions and calls for the protection of Turkmen, especially activists and Turkmen regime opponents, at risk of torture, arbitrary detention, and expulsion.
Image Source: Altayar
