Recently, a “Lynching Campaign” has been launched against Syrian immigrants, just because they are Syrian nationals, and the situation has reached dire levels, especially with the provocations of some politicians.
With the instigation of some politicians, some provocateurs attacked a Syrian national with whom he have had a small argument before and perhaps even maybe no problems at all.
By presenting Syrians to the law enforcement officers as having the status of “terrorist” or “illegal immigrant”, this causes the foreigner/immigrant in question to be unjustly captured, held irregularly in repatriation centers and subjected to administrative treatment away from his/her place of residence. All of these follow meaningless residence permit cancellations and deportation decisions regarding foreigners, and unfortunately, before the behind-the-scenes and material truth of the incident is revealed, grievances arise just because they are Syrians, sometimes only because they are Arabs which is not befitting of a state of law also considered as Racism!
To make matters worse, recently, it has been observed that some official units, influenced by this campaign, have actually taken action against the law. This situation is contrary to the mission that Turkiye has undertaken throughout history.
In particular, the decision of the Constitutional Court clearly reveals the unlawfulness committed against some Syrians. As a matter of fact, in the relevant Constitutional Court decision published in the Official Gazette dated 13.09.2023 & 02.05.2023; A Syrian under Temporary Protection was granted the right to life, the prohibition of ill-treatment, and the right to effective appeal in connection with these rights, by being forced to sign a “voluntary return request form” despite the person’s lack of consent, after a fight that did not lead to a public lawsuit, without any evidence. It accepted the allegations that the right to personal freedom and security was violated due to being placed under administrative detention, and the following conclusions were reached regarding this issue:
- It found it unlawful to deport a person who was involved in a fight in which neither party complained about each other, or a person who was brought to the Police Station on the allegation of intentional injury, on the grounds of Article 54 of Law No. 6458, which states “Those who pose a threat to public order or security or public health”. Because the foreigner has an application to the Administrative Court. While it was necessary to wait until the decision came from the Court within 15 days during this application period, it was understood that this statement and procedure were not complied with. On the other hand, it was stated that “the administration could not prove that the person with Temporary Protection Status signed the return request form voluntarily.”
As the International Jurists Union, we fully agree with the reasons detailed in the court decision. In its decision, the Constitutional Court found the action of the Administration, which acted unlawfully and did not comply with the mandatory deadlines, to be unlawful.
He sentenced the administration to compensation for its unlawful behavior. The victim’s application was concluded in favor of the applicant.
This nation; Throughout history, it is a nation known for its approach to protecting victims. The “hostility towards Syrian refugees” movement, which has been rising recently, neither suits today’s powerful Turkiye nor fits the role of Ansar/muhajir that Turkiye has.
CONCLUSION:
We demand that everyone working in the migration management mechanisms of the Republic of Turkiye act within the framework of the reasons specified in the content of the decision given by the Constitutional Court against “Syrian Temporary Protection ID holders”, and that the behavior befitting state decency be fulfilled as required, without paying attention to some provocative approaches.
Lyr. Necati CEYLAN
Secretary General of the International Jurists Union