On April 6, Turkey’s “İLERİ HABER website reported the deportation of a Syrian national who was released after being detained by police on charges of possession of money and drugs in his car.
According to the website, Mohammed Nader al-Hammoud was beaten and forced to sign papers against his will.
The website stated that Mohammed was sent from Istanbul to the deportation center in the Adana province. He was then sent to Hatay state to be deported from the Bab al-Hawa crossing to Idleb.
Mohammed said he was severely beaten with sticks and forced to sign voluntary return papers for deportation, the website reported.
“I didn’t want to leave, two people grabbed my hand and forced me to imprint my fingerprints on the papers,” Mohammed said. I do not hold the government responsible for these acts, but it was the police who did this.”
Mohammed added that he was not allowed to communicate with his lawyer when he was transferred to the deportation center, and his mobile phone was confiscated.
Enab Baladi tried reaching out to human rights activist Taha Ghazi to verify the authenticity of the information. He said that Mohammed Nader Hammoud and Maher al-Samman were transferred to court after they filed their statements at the police station, in turn, the Turkish court acquitted them.
After the acquittal, Maher Samman was transferred to the Immigration Department’s deportation center in Malatya, while Mohammed Hammoud was transferred to the deportation center in Adana.
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Mohammed’s detention at the deportation center lasted nearly four days, and Ghazi confirmed that the detainee had been beaten by the officers and forced to sign the papers.
Samman was released from the deportation center and is now in Turkey, according to Ghazi.
“Mohammed’s return to Turkish territory is done by appointing a lawyer, in cooperation with Turkish organizations, to review his case by the Presidency of Immigration,” Ghazi said.
Ghazi attributed the repeated cases of deportation in recent times to the lack of clarity of immigration management laws in their dealings with Syrian refugees, and for resorting to deporting them regardless of the accusation against them.
Ghazi called on Syrian organizations and human rights organizations to hold the Ministry of Immigration accountable for the decisions taken in these cases.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
