Syrian Refugee Kept in Airport Over 1 Year Without Daylight, Fresh Air, Bed

Click here to read the article in Turkish / Haberin Türkçesi için buraya tıklayın. 

“Right now, my only dream is to sleep with the lights off. Then to see the daylight and go out to fresh air. But these are of secondary importance. My main trouble is the lighting. This light is too much. I have had enough”.

27-year-old Fadi Mansour held indoors in the airport for one year and has not gone out on fresh air nor seen daylight and has been sleeping in a windowless room where lights are constantly on for one year. He has been living on sandwiches for one year. In the video, in which he speaks Arabic, he says “I have had enough”.

Fadi Mansour is 27 years old. He was a fourth grade student at Law Faculty in Syria. He did not want to do military service and had to leave his country when he became a conscientious objector.

He has already spent one year in the room for “problematic passengers” in Atatürk Airport.

Now, returning to Syria does not sound so bad for him. “At least, you only die once in Syria, it is better than dying everyday here”.

No bed, no privacy

According to the information his lawyer Aysu Kapaklıkaya gave for bianet, he is being accused of attempting to enter Turkey with a fake passport.

There is a risk that he is deported and the lawsuit brought against this continues.

Mansour tries to live in the airport while still waiting for the result of the case. Together with other “problematic passengers”.  He has no privacy where he stays, as he shares is with other 30-40 passengers. There is of course no bed in the room where he stays. He has been sleeping on sofas for one year.

He has been in the airport since March 15, 2015.

“Had enough of eating sandwiches”

Kapaklıkaya has explained that Mansour was allowed to walk around the shopping areas in the airport once in awhile and that he sometimes was being kept in a single room with restrictions. His lawyer is not allowed to enter the room for “problematic passengers”.

He has even been attacked once by another passenger with whom he was sharing his room and been taken to hospital. Following the incident, restrictions have been imposed on him walking around the airport.

Aysu Kapaklıkaya has explained that Mansour was very troubled and has added “It has been a very long time”.

In addition to the compelling physical conditions and not being allowed to go on fresh air for one year, Mansour used to say “We are being given only sandwiches here, I have had enough of eating sandwiches”.  Now he can also eat the food served in the airport.

No response from authorities

Directorate General of Migration Management authorities are taking care of Mansour but “you could guess that they do not treat him very kindly as they assume ‘soon he will be deported anyway’”.

“His psychological state was not that well. He is complaining about being trampled on”. .

He has to cover the expenses except food such as sandwiches himself and the airport is very expensive. And it is assumed that he has ran of the little amount of money he had.   

Attorney Kapaklıkaya says “The judicial procedure continued very slowly”.

The authorities we have talked to from Atatürk Airport and Migration Management Syria Department have expressed that they could not give any information and talk on the issue.

Lebanon and Malaysia sent him back

Citizen of Syria, F.M. has left Syria to evade from military service in August 2012 and went to Lebanon.

F.M. stated that he came to Turkey from Lebanon following being kept hostage for ransom by a local group in Lebanon.

He went to Malaysia after staying in Turkey for a month. His entrance to Malaysia was denied on the allegation that he used fake ID information. Malaysian authorities returned him to Turkey in March 2015.

F.M. has been remanded in custody in Atatürk Airport’s “Problematic Passengers Room” for eight months. He demanded to be sent to Lebanon after he was attacked and wounded by another person on remand.

He headed to Lebanon on November 20 but his entrance to the country was denied and that sent back to İstanbul the next day, on November 21. He has been taken into custody once more as he landed in İstanbul. He is still kept in “Problematic Passengers Room”.

Lawyer went to court for F.M.’s release but no decision has been made yet. (AS/DG)