PARIS —
Iran and Turkey are preventing entry of Afghan refugees or forcibly returning
them to face life-threatening risks under the Taliban regime, in violation of
international law, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday.
اضافة اعلان
Hundreds of
thousands fled Afghanistan in August 2021 after the US left the country in a
chaotic military pullout, allowing the hardline Taliban Islamists to retake
control.
But while many who
assisted US forces in particular were airlifted out, the vast majority have had
to flee by land, in particular towards Iran and eventually Turkey.
Many are poor and
lack passports or other valid travel documents, making them especially
vulnerable to border police who use threats or outright violence to keep them
out or push them back, Amnesty said.
“Iranian and
Turkish security forces have unlawfully used firearms against Afghans trying to
cross the border irregularly as a deterrent and a pushback method, sometimes
resulting in deaths or injuries,” the report said.
Amnesty said it
based its findings on interviews with dozens of Afghans, including 74 who were
forcibly returned, sometimes with children or other family members.
The NGO cited
numerous cases of “unlawful killings, pushbacks by shooting and other unlawful
returns, arbitrary detention, and torture and other ill-treatment of Afghans at
the hands of both
Iranian and Turkish officials.”
In particular, it
documented killings of 11 Afghans by Iranian security forces and three Afghans
by Turkish forces over the past year.
Under international
law, countries are obliged to ensure a right to seek asylum and the principle
of non-refoulement, or the forced return of refugees to countries where they
would face persecution or other human rights violations.
“It is Amnesty
International’s position, in line with, that no
Afghan should be returned,
because of the risk of serious human rights violations they could face in
Afghanistan,” it said.
It also called on the international community to provide aid
to countries supporting Afghan refugees, and for Europe, the US, and Canada to
step up efforts to facilitate the exit of Afghans at risk of being targeted by
the Taliban.
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