Opposition MPs criticize decision to deport refugees over İstanbul Convention protests

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Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) İstanbul MP Züleyha Gülüm has addressed a Parliamentary question to Vice President Fuat Oktay and asked him about the decision to deport the Iranian refugees on the grounds of their participation in the İstanbul Convention protests.

Reminding the Vice President of the unlawful practices against women in Iran, the MP has said that Turkey's decision is not lawful.

'Turkey violates Geneva Convention'

Giving background information about the issue, HDP's Züleyha Gülüm has recalled that after Esmail Fattahi, Leili Faraji, Zeinab Sahafi and Pourakbari Kermani, four refugees from Iran, attended the protests in the face of Turkey's withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention, they were taken into custody in Denizli and the authorities in Turkey decided to deport them.

The HDP MP has noted that the detained refugees were held in the Denizli Provincial Security Directorate on the alleged grounds of "disturbing public order" and "participating in unlawful demonstrations" and they announced that they were subjected to torture in detention.

"The Denizli Administrative Court rejected the Iranian refugees' appeals against the decision of deportation solely based on the statements of police officers against them," Züleyha Gülüm has said, criticizing that the right to life of the refugees has been disregarded with the court ruling which acknowledged the defendants' statements that they would be tortured and tormented due to their political views if they were sent back to Iran, but added that the defendants should still "have the obligation to abide by the rules in countries where they are."

Explaining the situation further, Gülüm has added, "Esmail Fattahi, for whom a decision of deportation was given, said that they would be faced with a risk of capital punishment, they would be arrested and tortured for months in the event that they were sent back to Iran."

The MP has stressed that according to both the Geneva Convention, which Turkey is a party to, and the Law on Foreigners and International Protection's Article 4, a person shall not be sent back to a place where she or he will be subjected to inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment or her or his life or liberty will be at risk on the basis of race, religion, affiliation, membership of a particular social group or political views.

Accordingly, referring to "the State of Iran's discriminatory and despotic legal system against women", Züleyha Gülüm has underlined that deporting the refugees is against the international conventions as well as Turkey's laws as it is apparent that the related women will be faced with torture and prison sentences and their lives will be at risk if they are deported to the country.

'Does it comply with international law?'

Main opposition CHP MP Candan Yüceer has also brought the decision to deport the refugees to the Parliamentary agenda.

Dr. Candan Yüceer said briefly, "While ISIS sympathizers are all around our country, the Iranian refugees who fled sharia to lead a humane life are deported because of protesting the withdrawal from the İstanbul Convention. Deport the members of ISIS terrorist organization and its sympathizers, not the refugees who exercise their democratic right to protest."

Accordingly, the MP addressed a series of questions to Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu, including the following:

"Is it decided to deport five Iranian refugees who joined a legal protest demonstration which was also joined by the citizens of our country?

"Does it comply with the national and international law to deport the related Iranian refugees?

"Were the maltreatment and risk of capital punishment in the event of their deportation to Iran, instead of a third country, considered while making a decision to deport the related refugees from Turkey?

"How many people have been faced with decisions of deportation from our country over the past five years? What is the distribution of these decisions by years and reasons?" (EMK/SD)