Via Hurriyet Daily News – Over 300 people of Afghan and Syrian origin were evacuated from an Istanbul neighborhood on May 16 amid rising tension after the killing of a local man by a foreign resident on May 14, Doğan News agency has reported. They will now be sent to migrant camps in different provinces across Turkey.

Ramazan Şahin, 24, was killed during a brawl between locals and migrants in the İsmetpaşa neighborhood of the Sultangazi district, after which riot police intervened with water cannon and tear gas against a group protesting the killing.

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Via Yeryüzü postasi (Link in Turkish) – After three days of racist attacks and lynching of refugees in Istanbul’s Sultangazi İsmetpaşa district, the police has arrested 116 refugees. They are going to be deported.

Ramazan Şahin lost his life during the attacks from Turkish citizens towards Afghan and Syrian refugees on sunday. The racist mob claimed that the refugees had “talked to girls” and used this statement as an excuse for lynching an Afghan migrant after the funeral prayer. Since sunday racist groups continued attacking refugees in Sultangazi. At least 16 refugees were wounded so far.

With the crackdown on the Turkish academies launched since the beginning of 2016, 452 Academics for Peace have been dismissed from their jobs or forced to resign and retire. These academics did not only loose their jobs but they are also stripped of the civil rights and virtually banned from getting re-employed in the private sector as well.

Several organizations including Unions are trying to put together funds to make up for lost incomes, help living costs as well as legal costs. As HarekAct, we are in support with the Academics for Peace and would like to disseminate the information about two crowfunding campaigns as follows:

Continue reading Solidarity crowdfunding campaigns for dismissed Academics for Peace →

Via ECRE – The Turkish Directorate-General of Migration Management (DGMM) has published its Annual Migration Report for 2016, which provides information inter alia on its international protection procedure established by the Law on Foreigners and International Protection (LFIP) and on its temporary protection regime for persons fleeing Syria.

Via Refugees Deeply – Daniel Howden, journalist and senior editor at Refugees Deeply, writes about the current situation on refugees in Greece and the impacts of EU-Turkey deal. He provides a detailed and vivid account on more than 50,000 refugees and migrants stranded within Greece’s borders. For Howden, policies that segregate the refugees from the host population and the absence of integration schemes create a gloomy atmosphere of deterrence, where the Greek state tries to ignore the situation by hoping that the problem “will vanish by itself”.

Via Gazete Duvar (Link in Turkish) – Following the wall constructed at the Syrian border, Turkey will build a new wall at the Iranian border. The distance between Ağrı and Iğdır will be closed by a 70 kilometer wall and the rest will be covered with wire looms and towers.

According to Abdulkadir Selvi, a columnist from Hürriyet newspaper, Turkey is preparing to close the Iranian border on the grounds of PKK. For this aim, the border will be covered with concrete wall, iron barb wire and watch towers.