Iran and Turkey are repeatedly carrying out illegal pushbacks of Afghan refugees or forcibly returning them to life-threatening risks under the Taliban regime, Amnesty International has said. Migrants who managed to enter Turkey or Iran have been subject to arbitrary detainment and torture before being returned, the rights group found.
Iran and Turkey have repeatedly pushed back Afghan migrants who attempt to cross their borders to reach safety, Amnesty International said in a new report published Wednesday (August 31).
The London-based rights organization said Iranian and Turkish security forces also "unlawfully used firearms against Afghans trying to cross the border irregularly as a deterrent and a pushback method, sometimes resulting in deaths or injuries." The report, titled "They don't treat us like humans," documents instances where forces have shot directly at people as they climbed over walls or crawled under fences.
Afghan migrants who do manage to enter Iran or Turkey are "routinely arbitrarily detained, and subjected to torture and other ill-treatment before being unlawfully and forcibly returned" the report added. In particular, it documented killings of 11 Afghans by Iranian security forces and three Afghans by Turkish forces over the past year.
Scores of illegal deportations
Amnesty said its report is based on interviews with dozens of Afghans, including 74 who were forcibly returned, sometimes with children or other family members. Interviews were conducted in Herat City and Islam Qala border town in March 2022. The organization stated that none of those interviewed had been able to register an asylum claim in either country, and that the majority were returned to Afghanistan in violation of international law.
The report identified a total of 255 cases of illegal deportations between March 2021 and May 2022. According to the Turkish Ministry of the Interior, around 43,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan so far this year.
Hundreds of thousands fled Afghanistan in August 2021 following the Taliban's takeover, with the vast majority having fled by land, in particular towards Iran and eventually Turkey.
Afghanistan's neighboring countries have closed their borders to Afghans without travel documents. Under international law, countries are obliged to ensure a right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement.
Amnesty has urged the international community to provide financial and material support to countries that host large numbers of Afghans, including Iran and Turkey. It also called on Europe, the US and Canada to boost efforts to facilitate the exit of Afghans at risk of being targeted by the Taliban.
With AFP and dpa