Category Archives: Refugees

Amnesty issues report on displacement of hundreds of thousands in Turkey

Posted on December 5, 2016 by heissenstat

  Amnesty International has just issued an extensive and deeply researched 31 page report detailing “the desperate  plight of families forced out of the historical centre of Diyarbakir” through massive security operations and round-the-clock curfews.  “Homes in the once-bustling district have been … Continue reading →

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Syrian Refugee Fadi Mansour: No longer held at the airport, but still at risk

Posted on March 22, 2016 by heissenstat

The case of Fadi Mansour, who was held in the Ataturk Airport, in Istanbul, for over a year, has garnered international attention. Kaya Genc, writing in the London Review of Books, describes the conditions that Fadi endured: Mansour has been … Continue reading →

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Amnesty issues Urgent Action for Syrian Refugee held at Ataturk Airport

Posted on March 15, 2016 by heissenstat

For one year now, Syrian refugee Fadi Mansour has been arbitrarily detained at Istanbul’s Ankara Airport.  Today, Amnesty has issued an urgent action calling for his release (earlier this month, Amnesty issued an urgent action in a separate case, a … Continue reading →

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Amnesty Urgent Action: Arbitrary and Illegal Detention of Syrian Refugee

Posted on March 2, 2016 by heissenstat

Amnesty International today issued an Urgent Action in the case of Syrian refugee, M.K., who has been arbitrarily detained under inhumane conditions at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport since 9 November 2015. He is at risk of being returned to Syria, … Continue reading →

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Amnesty: Turkey blocks refugees as thousands flee Aleppo

Posted on February 20, 2016 by heissenstat

Amnesty International researchers on the ground at the Öncüpınar/Bab al-Salam border crossing report grim conditions for the thousands of refugees hoping to flee violence in Syria.  Amnesty has called on both Turkey and the international community to take urgent steps … Continue reading →

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Amnesty Issues Urgent Action on Refugees at Risk of Deportation

Posted on October 22, 2015 by heissenstat

Amnesty has been closely following the case of three refugees in Turkey who are at risk of deportation.  The three men have been denied access to counsel or to visits from their families under conditions that amount to incommunicado detention … Continue reading →

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Amnesty voices concern over EU-Turkey deal on refugees

Posted on October 17, 2015 by heissenstat

In advance of Angela Merkel’s visit to Istanbul, Amnesty International issued a press release voicing concern over a potential deal: European leaders’ desperate attempts to enlist Turkey as Europe’s gatekeeper are ignoring the manifest failures of the Turkish authorities to … Continue reading →

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Amnesty Issues Urgent Action: Refugees At Risk of Being Forcibly Returned to Syria

Posted on September 24, 2015 by heissenstat

Amnesty International today issued an urgent action in the case of around 150 Syrian refugees at risk of being returned to Syria by Turkish authorities.  The action also notes that a smaller group of Iraqi refugees “were released from the … Continue reading →

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Amnesty condemns assassination of Tajik dissident, calls on Turkey to act

Posted on March 6, 2015 by heissenstat

In a press release today, Amnesty International has condemned the murder of Umarali Kuvvatov in Istanbul.  Amnesty also warned that his associates are at grave risk of further attacks. Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Deputy Europe and Central Asia Programme Director … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Justice Amidst the Tear Gas

Posted on October 29, 2013 by heissenstat

26-year-old Ethem Sarisuluk was shot in the head by a Turkish police officer on June 1, 2013.  He died of his injuries two weeks later. As described in Amnesty’s recent report on the Gezi crackdown: The moment when the police … Continue reading →

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