June 28, 1996

URGENT ACTION ALERT
Fear of Deportation of more than 80 Iranian Asylum Seekers in Turkey

Last night around 1 a.m., Turkish security forces rounded up more than 80 Iranian asylum seekers who were still participating in a protest sit-in in Ankara staged in August 1995. Ten adults were arrested in the office of the Human Rights Association where they have been staging a hunger strike since June 3. The rest of the people, including more than 30 children, were rounded up from the office of the Freedom and Solidarity Party, the main site of the sit-in. The sit-in was staged to cancel the deportation orders and to urge the Ankara Branch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to re-open the cases of the participants, who were denied a meaningful appeal after their refugee claims were rejected by the Office.

Turkish authorities have reportedly expressed their aim as only returning the participants to their prior towns of residence in Turkey. However, based on events happening prior to the round up, Iranian Refugees' Alliance is extremely concerned that these attacks is a precursor to actual deportation of all or part of the sit-in participants, which could subject them to persecution by the Iranian government.

Prior to this round up, on Friday June 21st, Karim Shahrashoub, a sit-in participant was arrested outside of the sit-in received a deportation order immediately after being returned to his town of prior residence. He was subsequently removed to the border town of Agri, where all deportees are taken prior to be forced across the border to Iran or being directly handed over to Iranian authorities. In Iran, people who oppose or are suspected of opposing the government face serious human rights violations including torture and the death penalty. The sit-in protest have come to the attention of the Iranian authorities as a protest directed against this government and the Iranian authorities have openly expressed a hostile view against sit-in participants.

Iranian Refugees' Alliance asks all concerned organizations to send letters to the Turkish authorities and the UNHCR and:

• call for immediate clarification of Karim Shahrashoub's whereabouts, asking whether he is currently detained in Agri and if so ask for his immediate release.
• express concern over imminent deportation of the sit-in group and call for immediate assurances that none of the sit-in participants will be forcibly returned to Iran where they would face gross human rights violations.
• call for immediate extension of the sit-in participant's stay permits in Turkey by the Turkish authorities until a durable and safe solution is found.
• call for a constructive response by the UNHCR towards the sit-in participants.
• point out that there are other safe and durable solutions which so far neither the Turkish authorities nor the UNHCR have considered such as Canada's Private sponsorship program and Australia's refugee and humanitarian visa program.
• call for immediate provisions by the Turkish Government and the UNHCR to utilize their resources and to facilitate resettlement of the sit-in participants by means of other solutions.
• point out that after 11 months of an anguished life in the overcrowded site of the sit-in and despite the dismal living conditions, scattering the sit-in participants in various towns is inhumane and obstructive in finding a safe and durable solution for the group.

Please send your letters immediately:

TO: TURKISH AUTHORITIES Minister of the Interior: Mr. Ulku Guney [Salutation: Dear Minister] Icisleri Bakanligi Bakanliklar Ankara, Turkey Fax: (90 312) 418 1795 Minister of the Foreign Affairs: Emre Gonensay [Salutation: Dear Minister] Disisleri Bakanligi 06100 Ankara Faxes: (90 312) 419 1547 TO: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Representative : Barry Rigby UNHCR-Branch Office in Turkey 17 Abidin Daver Sokak Cankaya Ankara 06680 Turkey phone: (90 312) 439 66 15-18 Fax: (90 312)438 2702 email: turan@unhcr.tr

copies to: High Commissioner Sadako Ogata UNHCR- Geneva Headquarters Case Postale 2500, CH-1211 Geneva 2 Depot Switzerland phone: (41-22) 739-8111 Fax: (41-22) 731-9546 Nicholas Dahrendors UNHCR-Senior Regional Legal Adviser for Eastern & Central Europe phone: (41-22) 739-8111 Fax: (41-22) 739-7332 Dennis MacNamara UNHCR-Division of International Protection phone: (41-22) 739-8111 Fax: (41-22) 731-9546

For more information please contact

Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc.
Cooper Station
P.O.Box 316
NY, NY 10278-0316, USA
Tel/Fax: 212-260-7460 e-mail: irainc@igc.apc.org

or

Human Rights Association-Ankara Branch (Insan Haklari Dernegi)
Bayindir 2
Sok. No. 38/8 Kizilay
Ankara Turkey
Tel: 90-312-433-7481
Fax: 90-312-435-7615
e-mail: IHD-ANK@info-ist.comlink.de
ne02-k@servis2.net.tr