Türkiye has rejected accusations that it has arbitrarily detained and deported hundreds of Syrians in the past months.
The Presidency of Migration Management denied on Friday allegations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that Türkiye is deporting refugees to Syria without their consent.
Describing the accusations as “scandalous,” the body said Türkiye’s efforts in easing the plight of migrants has been recognized across the globe.
HRW said: “Turkish authorities arbitrarily arrested, detained, and deported hundreds of Syrian refugee men and boys to Syria between February and July 2022.”
“The deportations provide a stark counterpoint to Türkiye’s record of generosity as host to more refugees than any other country in the world and almost four times as many as the whole European Union (EU), for which the EU has provided billions of Euros in funding for humanitarian support and migration management,” it added.
HRW recommended that the Turkish government end arbitrary arrests, detention, and deportation of Syrian refugees to northern Syria, ensure that members of security forces and immigration officials do not use violence against Syrians or other detained foreign nationals, and hold any officials using violence to account.
It further urged an independent probe into “actions to force, deceive, or falsify the signing or imprint of migrants’ fingerprints on voluntary return forms.”
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu dismissed the accusations, noting that the number of Syrian refugees in Türkiye has remained largely the same since 2018. It registered 3.623 million Syrians in 2018 and now the figure has risen slightly to 3.629 million.
He stressed that Türkiye “can’t turn its back on humanity”.
