Violence against Chechen woman at Removal Center

* Photo: Ekmek ve Gül

Click to read the article in Turkish

The husband of H.H., a refugee woman from Chechnya in the North Caucasus, has applied to the Human Rights Association (İHD) Central Office to ask for help as his wife was subjected to violence at the Gündoğdu Removal Center in Turkey's western province of Kocaeli.

Visiting H.H. at the Removal Center, İHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin says that the woman confirms the allegations of battery. "We cannot access the Removal Center or the camp of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD). Because civil society organizations cannot enter these camps," notes Keskin, adding, "I find this visit very important in that sense."

Lawyer Keskin shares the following information about the incident:

"Chechen woman H.H. came to Turkey, together with her four children and husband. Her husband was arrested for some time on ISIS-related charges. He has been released afterwards. The investigation filed against her for being an ISIS member has ended in non-prosecution.

"Having stayed at the Removal Center in Aydın before, the woman has been staying at the Removal Center in Kocaeli for some time. She said that she was subjected to violence in both centers. She was constantly crying. One of her children caught coronavirus at this center. But as the 11-month-old baby with Down syndrome was not treated at first, s/he died at hospital.

"The woman is very sad for this reason. She is subjected to violence, both psychologically and physically. Her husband is released pending trial and there is a decision of non-prosecution given for her. What is the woman supposed to do? She is in a really difficult situation.

"She has three children outside. This is an atrocity. She has lost her one child. The woman's future is completely uncertain. As the legal proceedings as to the refoulement are still ongoing, it is all uncertain. She can stay with her family outside, but no such opportunity is given.

'Meeting interrupted'

"We speak to her attorney. I am sure that other women also experience similar situations to the woman that I talked to. We, as the İHD Central Office, and I, as her attorney, will follow up this issue to the end.

"This is an unjust treatment several women forced to migrate are subjected to. While we were talking, they came all of a sudden and asked us to end the meeting. They said that they would take her to a hospital.

"I heard it while leaving, they were asking the woman, 'What did she ask you? What did you tell her?'"

About Removal Centers

Turkey has 26 centers, from which refugees are sent back to their countries of origin. According to the 2020 report of the Ministry of Interior, these centers and the number of their inhabitants are as follows:

Adana: 80

Ağrı: 400

Antalya: 170

Aydın: 564

Bursa: 200

Çanakkale: 400

Çankırı: 750

Edirne: 500

Erzurum 1: 750

Erzurum: 2: 750

Gaziantep: 750

Hatay: 192

İstanbul (Binkılıç): 120

İstanbul (Silivri): 270

İstanbul (Tuzla): 900

İzmir: 750

Kayseri: 750

Kırıkkale: 200

Kırklareli: 750

Kocaeli: 750

Malatya: 750

Muğla: 88

Van (Tuşba): 392

Van (Kurubaş): 750

Iğdır: 1500

Osmaniye: 3 thousand.

(EMK/SD)