Syrian refugee missing for 100 days after release from prison

The Civil Society in the Penal System Association (CİSST) has announced that there has been no word from Syrian prisoner Ali Veli for 100 days following his release from Erzincan Type-L Closed Prison on March 12. 

Before his release, Veli had informed his family that he would be handed over to the gendarmerie for transfer to a repatriation center.

Images of torture

Following Veli’s disappearance, unidentified callers using a Turkish phone number contacted his family, claiming that Veli would be released in exchange for his father. Shortly after, the same number sent Veli’s family images of him being tortured. These images later surfaced publicly on various news and social media platforms on April 1.

In early April, the family sought help from the Mardin branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), where lawyer Gülistan Duran Altuntaş, also the co-chair of Mardin IHD, filed a criminal complaint. However, on May 13, the investigation was dismissed without further action. Security authorities have suggested that Veli was deported to Syria from Gaziantep under a "voluntary return" process, yet there is no signed documentation confirming the deportation process in Veli’s files.

Veli was underage at time of detention

CİSST highlighted that although Veli was only 17 at the time of his arrest, discrepancies due to a different identity document at his time of entry into Turkey led to official records listing him as 19. This misclassification resulted in no legal actions being taken under the "Child in Conflict with the Law" status. Efforts by his lawyer to correct this were unsuccessful, influenced by strained relations between the two countries, leading to a denial of his juvenile status by the court.

CİSST has pointed out the human rights violations in Veli’s deportation and has raised several unanswered questions regarding the specifics of his release, custody, and alleged deportation process. The organization has called on all government agencies to take responsibility and has used World Refugee Day on June 20 to ask, “Where is Ali Veli?” (AS/VK)