Pakistan must protect 285 Turkish nationals from forcible repatriation, arbitrary arrest, and other human rights abuses, FIDH and its member organization Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said on Thursday. This call follows the deportation of a Turkish family of four on October 14, 2017.
"The Pakistani government must ensure the protection of the other 285 individuals who risk being deported to Turkey and put an end to the blatant disregard of its international obligations," said FIDH President Dimitris Christopolous.
The 285 Turkish nationals, who are teachers associated with the Pak-Turk schools and their families, have been facing deportation to Turkey since November 2016. The 285 now live in fear of raids carried out by the Pakistani police and intelligence services in Pakistan.
Such detention may be accompanied by torture and other forms of ill-treatment. This occurs in the context of the Turkish government's crackdown on teachers, journalists, academics, and human rights defenders in the aftermath of the July 2016 failed coup d'état in Turkey. Turkey has already succeeded in obtaining the forcible repatriation of teachers linked to the Pak-Turk schools from Malaysia, Myanmar, and Saudi Arabia.
On 27 September 2017, the former head of the Pak-Turk schools in Pakistan, Mesut Kacmaz, was abducted along with his wife and their two children. On October 14, the Kacmaz family was handed over to Turkish policemen and forcibly repatriated to Turkey in a plane sent by the Turkish government. Since their arrival in Turkey, they have been under police custody. This forcible repatriation occurred despite statements made by Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Minister Khawaja Asif during a visit to the US in early October 2017 that the Turkish teachers and their families would only be deported once delays granted by the Pakistani courts and protection afforded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had expired.
The Pakistani government's initial deportation order for the Turkish teachers to leave Pakistan by November 20, 2016 has been suspended by several Pakistani high courts. Further, "Asylum Seeker Certificates" granted by the UNHCR specifically state that the Turkish nationals should be protected from forcible return to a country where they claim they could face threats to their life or freedom. While these certificates have now been extended until 11 October 2018, dozens face broader challenges concerning their status: 85 people have new-born children without passports, others have passports that have expired, and members of one family have been stripped of Turkish citizenship.
The forcible repatriation of the Kacmaz family and the risk of deportation faced by the remaining 285 Turkish nationals are in violation of Pakistan's obligations under international law.