Amnesty: Turkey forced Syrian refugees back into war zone

Turkey illegally forced Syrian refugees to return to the war zone, putting their lives in grave danger, Deutsche Welle has reported referring to Amnesty International.

"Turkey's claim that refugees from Syria are choosing to walk straight back into the conflict is dangerous and dishonest,” said Anna Shea, Researcher on Refugee and Migrant Rights at Amnesty International. "Rather, our research shows that people are being tricked or forced into returning."

Dozens of refugees told the organization that the Turkish police beat and threatened them into signing documents saying they were willingly returning to Syria. Based on interviews conducted between July and October this year, researchers estimate that hundreds of people have been sent back unlawfully and against their will.

While some were beaten or threatened with violence or prison, the police also deceived people to get them to sign "voluntary return" statements. Refugees were told the documents they were signing were registrations, receipts, or even forms that said they wished to stay in Turkey. Others were told, falsely, that they were not properly registered in that province of Turkey and must therefore return to Syria.

Amnesty International was able to verify 20 cases of forced deportations. In all cases, the victims were sent over the border in a bus filled with dozens of people with their hands bound.

Records from the Turkish authorities claim that 315,000 people have returned to Syria voluntarily.