Amnesty International published a short report about deportations and forceful ‘voluntary returns’ to Syria:
Amnesty International is concerned that Turkey has become an even less safe space for refugees and asylum-seekers since the coup attempt on 15 July 2016. Safeguards against being sent to other countries where they face a risk of serious human rights violations have been drastically reduced as part of the measures adopted under the state of emergency in place following the failed coup.
Amnesty International’s research prior to the coup attempt concluded that Turkey could not be considered a safe country for asylum seekers and refugees on a number of counts. Non-Syrian asylum-seekers in Turkey do not have access to fair and efficient procedures for the determination of their status. Neither do they have timely or adequate access to integration or resettlement, two of the three durable solutions applicable to people in need of asylum. The conditions in Turkey also do not represent an environment where asylum-seekers and refugees, both Syrian and non-Syrian, can be assured of the ability to live in dignity through access to their economic and social rights.
In late 2015 and early 2016, Amnesty International documented instances where Turkish authorities sent asylum-seekers and refugees back to face a risk of serious human rights violations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. 3 In May and June 2017 the following new cases emerged.