April 10, 1997

ACTION ALERT: Hundreds more of Iranian asylum seekers in Turkey are at risk of imminent expulsion

This is an urgent appeal for action concerning Turkish governments intention to forcibly return hundreds more of Iranian asylum seekers to Iran or Iraq.

Since Feb. 26, 1997, more than 80 asylum seekers have been expelled (Urgent Actions, Feb. 25, 1997 & March 7, 1997) from Turkey mostly to Iraq. Dozens more have been stranded after being sought by the police for deportation. Unconfirmed reports indicate that a list of 736 Iranian asylum seekers have been drawn up for this purpose.

If returned to Iran, Iranian dissidents who have sought refuge in another country risk persecution. Iranians who are forcibly returned to Iraq are at risk of being assassinated, kidnapped and tortured by Iranian government agents who are backed by two ruling Kurdish parties and the Hizbollah for political and econimic gains. Iranians are also at risk of forcible return to Iran by these parties as well as other human rights violations occurring in Northern Iraq. The recent deportees and most of those who are currently at risk of deportation by the Turkish authorities have been recognized as refugees by the UNHCR and some have even obtained their visas and are ready to exit Turkey immediately for resettlement in third countries. The excuse for their deportation is that they have failed to present themselves to the authorities for filing an asylum claim within five-days of their arrival, a draconian requirement in Turkey's new asylum regulation.

In Nov. 1994 Turkey established a new series of regulations to determine whether non-European asylum seekers, who have never been eligible to request permanent asylum in Turkey, should even be regarded as asylum seekers and be granted the chance to seek assistance from the UNHCR for resettlement in a third country. The new regulations state that Iranian asylum seekers must register with the police and submit a request for temporary asylum within 5 days of their arrival. Those entering illegally must register and reside at the border town where they first arrived. Their request for temporary asylum is then recorded by the police in an interview. Based on the record of the interview, the Interior Ministry decides the applicant's future. Only those whose request for temporary asylum are granted, receive a temporary stay permit and are referred to the UNHCR for resettlement in a third country. If the decision is negative, they should receive a deportation order from the Interior Ministry, which may be appealed within 15 days.

Since the introduction of the new regulations, several international organizations such as the US Committee for Refugees, Canadian Council for Refugees, Inter-Church Committee for Refugees, and Amnesty International as well as national critiques have criticized the regulations on both technical and substantive grounds.

In an open letter to the Interior Minister of Turkey, Iranian Refugees' Alliance presented some recent findings of its representatives' recent trip to Turkey. By highlighting the problems which relate to the letter of the regulations as well as the unrelenting powers given to the border police in stepping out of the regulations with impunity, Iranian Refugees' Alliance emphasized that such acute breach of international and national laws excuses asylum seekers from presenting themselves to the authorities.

Iranian Refugees' Alliance calls on the Turkish Government to stop all expulsions and, instead, take effective steps to remedy the situation by fulfilling its international obligations for the protection of refugees. A viable measure practiced for several months prior to the deportations has allowed some such "illegally" present asylum seekers who have been recognized by the UNHCR to exit Turkey for onward resettlement. Iranian Refugees' Alliance urges the Turkish government to continue practicing this interim measure until effective steps have been taken to remedy the system.

We ask all concerned organizations to join in our effort by immediately expressing their concern to the Turkish authorities and urging the Turkish government to: stop the deportations immediately and allow all asylum seekers to stay in Turkey while arrangements are made for their resettlement in a third country.

Use existing interim measures to regularize the status of asylum seekers who have failed to register as asylum claim with the authorities until effective steps are made to remedy the asylum system.

Take effective steps to bring the regulations in line with internationally accepted refugee norms.

Please send your letters to:

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