What is going on in the Removal Centres? (1)

2025-01-27 12:30:29


	 

	Refugee women describe allegations of harassment and threats

	 

	Derya Ren

	 

	RIHA - Allegations of harassment and rape against refugee women in Harran and Urfa Removal Centres are increasing. In these centres where the authorities remain silent, women say that they are forced to complete their documents in exchange for harassment.

	 

	While the problems faced by refugees in Turkey deepen day by day, the rights violations that refugees are exposed to continue to increase due to the nationalist, religious, monist and racist policies implemented by the government. While the authorities try to cover up the problems experienced in the Removal Centres and Temporary Accommodation Centres managed by the Directorate of Migration Management under the Ministry of Interior, women who are condemned to live in these centres are subjected to harassment, rape and torture.

	 

	In the first part of our dossier, women in Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre and Urfa Removal Centre talked about the pressures they are subjected to.

	 

	Allegations of harassment in Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre

	 

	It is alleged that the deputy director of Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre, Ömer, whose surname is unknown, constantly harassed women and raped some of them. Similarly, another assistant manager named S.K. allegedly harassed women and forced them to rape with the promise of ‘completing their documents’.

	 

	On the other hand, in some of the footage obtained, it is alleged that a deputy director named Ömer raped a woman in a container in Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre. It is also among the information obtained that Ömer was suspended from his job due to these images. However, there is no definite information that Ömer was dismissed.

	 

	Appointment to S.K., allegations continue

	 

	It is learned that S.K., who is also the deputy director, was promoted in rank and appointed as deputy director to Urfa Repatriation Centre despite all these allegations. However, it is alleged that S.K. also harassed women and forced them to be raped in Urfa Repatriation Centre.

	 

	We called Urfa Repatriation Centre about the incidents and asked whether there were such allegations against the staff. However, the officials refused to answer our questions, saying "We cannot give you information on this issue."

	 

	Uncertainty about the complaint and the legal process

	 

	There is no information on whether there have been any legal complaints or initiatives. It is not known whether the authorities have investigated these allegations or whether a legal process has been initiated.

	 

	 ‘We were sent to 4 different Removal Centres’

	 

	Speaking to JINNEWS, K.E. said that she lives in Izmir with her mother, siblings and child and described her experiences as follows "They took us to Kilis Repatriation Centre due to missing documents. They released me, my sisters and my child, but they did not release my mother on the grounds that she was an ‘organisation member’. Therefore, I stayed with my mother, my sisters and my child left the Removal Centre. Then they sent us to Adana Removal Centre. There they told us, ‘If you sleep with me for one night, I will complete your documents’. Since I rejected this offer, our documents were never completed. They sent us to the Removal Centre in Belkis (Nizip) on security grounds. Since a fire broke out there, they brought us to Harran Removal Centre."

	 

	‘We stayed 1 year because we did not accept the offer’

	 

	K.E. stated that the harassment increased even more after they were brought to Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre and added the following "Ömer, whose surname I do not know, was harassing all the women there. He also made offers to me in return for completing my documents. Similarly, S.K. was also making similar offers. The documents of women who were subjected to S.K. and Ömer's harassment and rape were expedited and these people could leave the centre. We were kept there for about 1 year because we did not accept their offers. Only after 1 year we were able to leave the Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre. We were constantly being forced to go back to Syria."

	 

	 ‘Harassment still continues’

	 

	K.E. stated that Harran Temporary Accommodation Centre was no different from a prison and said the following "What we lived there was not normal. From food to drink, from pressure to harassment, we were living in conditions worse than a dungeon. When Ömer's images were published by some people, Ömer was dismissed. But nothing happened to S.K. S.K. still continues to harass me and other women."

	 

	‘Nobody is doing anything’

	 

	In December 2024, a refugee fell ill, K.E. stated the following: "The refugee was not taken to the doctor and died because the doctor arrived late. Afterwards, the refugees staying in the Temporary Accommodation Centre showed their reaction by not handing over the body for several hours. Sick people are not taken to hospital, women are harassed, young people are tortured. But no one does anything. No measures are taken."

	 

	‘Documents in exchange for harassment’

	 

	Another refugee E.N., who stated that he stayed in the Removal Centre for three years, stated the following ‘I went to Urfa Repatriation Centre on 20 January to get a temporary identity document issued. I was directed to S.K., but S.K. told me, ‘I will issue your identity document if you spend one night with me. However, S.K. told me, "If you spend one night with me, I will issue your identity document’. When I told him that such a thing was not possible, he said, ‘Then you will wait for your identity card. When you accept their harassment and rape, the documents are completed immediately."