HIV-Positive Refugee Woman: I will be Killed if I am Sent Back to Congo

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A refugee woman from Congo who resides at the Harmandalı Removal Center in the western İzmir province gave birth to a child in May.

She was diagnosed as HIV-positive during birth and her baby was taken to special care in order to not be affected by the virus. The woman and her baby were sent to the Harmandalı center after the one-month treatment of the toddler was completed.

The 12-year-old daughter of the woman was kidnapped by armed gangs in Congo and she was forced to flee to Turkey with her husband and 10-year-old son, Nilay Geylanlı Yorgancıoğlu, the attorney of the woman, told bianet. She said that the woman's son and husband do not reside in the Harmandalı center.

The attorney said that they applied to the Migration Management for the woman to stay in Turkey and then sent to a third country by the United Nations.

"I visit the woman and her baby every week. She and the baby is being treated by Turkey right now. We meet for about an hour but at least 45 minutes of it passes with her crying.

"The woman is under isolation at the center. The refugees don't talk to her because her illness is heard.

"The woman is in a state of constant depression, thinking about her kidnapped daughter. If she stays in Turkey, she will be treated and the conditions will be met for the United Nations to send her to a third country."

They have filed a lawsuit at the administrative court against the verdict of extradition for her because she is HIV-positive, Yorgancıoğlu said.

"The case is continuing. A verdict of suspension was issued as a precaution. This means it is a temporary verdict. Right now, the woman can't be extradited. We have an application for international protection for the woman.

An interview was done on this matter. It took a pretty long time. The interviews take a long time because the woman cries. She is a woman who really experienced bad things. This is why I think the Migration Management react to the application positively."

If Turkey makes a positive decision for the protection of the woman and the baby, she will be sent to a safe city with her baby. They will be treated for free in line with the regulations.

The UN will step in in the next phase and the woman will be transferred to a third country. Attorney Yorgancıoğlu said that the woman could be sent to a French-speaking country because she speaks French. (EMK/VK)