New York, Nov 13 (IANS) Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based advocacy group, has accused the Turkish authorities of increasingly restricting the legal residency of Uyghurs in Turkey who are seeking safety from the persecution of the Chinese government.

The rights body alleged that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration detained several Uyghurs in inhumane and degrading conditions, and coerced them to sign voluntary return forms, putting them at risk of deportation to third countries that have extradition agreements with China.

In its report titled ‘Protected No More: Uyghurs in Turkiye’, the HRW revealed that Uyghurs’ previous access to international protection status, and their preferential treatment under the Turkish immigration system, is being nullified as authorities arbitrarily mark their police and immigration records with “restriction codes”, labelling them a “public security threat”.

“Until recently, Uyghurs who escaped repression at home felt safe in Turkey, but as China-Turkey relations warm, and the Erdoğan government cracks down on refugees and migrants, many are growing fearful,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at HRW.

“Some Uyghurs say they don’t dare leave their homes for fear of arrests and being sent to deportation centres, while others are undertaking perilous journeys elsewhere in search of safety,” she added.

According to HRW, Uyghurs and their lawyers interviewed said that detainees are subjected to ill-treatment in detention centres and frequently pressured to sign voluntary return forms, enabling their repatriation or transfer to another country. The rights body said that at least three of those interviewed had signed the forms, and one of them was deported to the United Arab Emirates, which has an extradition treaty with China.

“Now, because I don’t have any legal documents, I cannot even go outside because of fear, even for groceries, because I don’t want to end up in the deportation centre again.” HRW quoted one Uyghur as saying, whose residence permit was arbitrarily cancelled by Turkish authorities.

The rights body emphasised that the Turkish government is obligated under international law to uphold the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits countries from returning anyone to a place where they would face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious ill-treatment, a threat to life, or other comparable serious human rights violations.

“The Turkish government should respect the principle of non-refoulement, immediately stop all deportations of Uyghurs to third countries, and recognise Uyghurs as refugees on a prima facie basis,” said Pearson.

“Other governments should halt transferring Uyghurs to Türkiye, as it can no longer be considered a safe third country for Uyghurs, and should consider resettling Uyghur refugees from Turkey,” she further added.

–IANS

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