PBI-Kenya expresses concern about the abduction of four Turkish asylum seekers and their forcible return to Turkey
Photo from Velev news.
This statement from the Police Reforms Working Group says: “The principle of non-refoulement is a cornerstone of refugee protection. It has been recognised in international humanitarian law for more than seventy years.”
Refoulement refers to the forcible return of refugees or asylum seekers to a country where they are liable to be subjected to persecution.
The Working Group highlights that it is “shocked by the Government of Kenya’s admission that Kenyan law enforcement and foreign affairs agencies played a role in the refoulement and forced return of Mustafa Genç, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Hüseyin Yeşilsu, four Turkish nationals from Kenya to Turkey.”
Image from DiploBrief.
This statement is signed by the Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya, an alliance of national and grassroots organizations, including Peace Brigades International Kenya (PBI Kenya), the Social Justice Centres Working Group, Amnesty International Kenya, the Wangu Kanja Foundation, and others.
Saadet Taşçı, the wife of Alparslan Taşçı, says she and her husband were among the seven people abducted by men in ski masks armed with AK47s who forced them into a large black SUV. Saadet, a British citizen and a minor, were later released.
The BBC reports: “Following the reported abduction, Kenyan law firm Mukele & Kakai said it was acting on behalf of four men who were registered refugees and warned airlines against allowing them to be taken on board. In a letter seen by the BBC, it described them as ‘victims of political victimisation’.”
DiploBrief, an international affairs digest, further explains: “Kenya on Monday [October 21] confirmed four Turkish nationals abducted on Friday [October 18] were repatriated to their country, effectively admitting being behind the abductions. Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary confirmed the repatriation was at the request of Turkish authorities, which effectively means the Kenyan government contravened the 1951 Refugee Convention in which it is a party.”
The Stockholm Center for Freedom also notes: “The incident has raised concerns that the kidnappers were operating under the direction of Turkish intelligence agency MİT, which is known to employ extralegal methods, including renditions, to secure the return of Gülen movement supporters abroad. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by US-based Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family and his inner circle.”
The Center further expresses the concern: “According to a 2023 report by Freedom House on transnational repression, Turkey has become the world’s second most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression. A wide range of tactics used by the Turkish government against its critics abroad include illegal renditions.”
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