The complaint is contained in the report published today by Amnesty International. Dozens of people killed or injured by gunshots. They also attack women and children. Documented cases of defenseless people shot in the back while trying to scale border walls.
Istanbul () – Forced repatriations, arbitrary arrests, shooting at defenseless civilians crossing borders: the Amnesty International (AI) report published today confirms what has already emerged in recent weeks about the abuses and violence suffered by Afghan refugees in Iran and Turkey, two countries in the path followed by tens of thousands of people desperate to flee the Taliban. Security forces in Tehran and Ankara, the report explains, have “repeatedly illegally and forcibly expelled Afghans attempting to cross the borders, unjustifiably shooting men, women and children.”
The investigation is based on interviews, dialogues and testimonies collected during the month of March in Afghanistan from more than 74 people who had tried to escape and were forcibly rejected at the border. Of these, at least 48 say they were shot while trying to cross into Iran and Turkey. Islamic Republic forces “injured or killed dozens of people”, opening fire on vehicles “overloaded” with fugitives. Turkish border guards also used “live bullets” to deter those trying to enter their country, says Amnesty researcher Marie Forestier, one of the report’s curators.
The NGO also collected the complaints of the relatives of six men and a young man, only 16 years old, assassinated by the Iranians between April 2021 and January 2022. At least 11 homicides have been confirmed for no reason and ignoring all rights. humans. There are cases of defenseless refugees who have been shot in the back while trying to climb walls, slide under fences or just walk.
Furthermore, many of those who managed to cross the borders between the two countries were later victims of torture and arbitrary detention in Turkey, and forcibly returned to Afghanistan. “We call on the Turkish and Iranian authorities – the Amnesty International report concludes – to immediately end all illegal expulsions and returns, and to guarantee safe passage and access to asylum procedures” for Afghans seeking protection. This must be accompanied by the economic and financial support of the international community to the countries that host the refugees, such as Turkey itself or Iran.
The issue of the Afghan fugitives, who travel a route not without risk through Iran and Turkey in an attempt to reach Europe, the United States or Australia, remains a source of deep concern a year after the rise of the Taliban in Kabul. In recent months, numerous cases of abuse and death have been known, such as the migrant who died of cold when trying to cross the Turkish border. An source had declared that “many people” have died along the border in the “desperate attempt” to start a new life away from Koranic students, who have already imposed numerous rules inspired by Sharia, Islamic law. .
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