* Photo: Ekmek ve Gül
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The husband of H.H., a refugee woman from Chechnya in the North Caucasus, has applied to the Human Rights Association (İHD) Central Office to ask for help as his wife was subjected to violence at the Gündoğdu Removal Center in Turkey's western province of Kocaeli.
Visiting H.H. at the Removal Center, İHD Co-Chair Eren Keskin says that the woman confirms the allegations of battery. "We cannot access the Removal Center or the camp of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD). Because civil society organizations cannot enter these camps," notes Keskin, adding, "I find this visit very important in that sense."
Lawyer Keskin shares the following information about the incident:
"Chechen woman H.H. came to Turkey, together with her four children and husband. Her husband was arrested for some time on ISIS-related charges. He has been released afterwards. The investigation filed against her for being an ISIS member has ended in non-prosecution.
"Having stayed at the Removal Center in Aydın before, the woman has been staying at the Removal Center in Kocaeli for some time. She said that she was subjected to violence in both centers. She was constantly crying. One of her children caught coronavirus at this center. But as the 11-month-old baby with Down syndrome was not treated at first, s/he died at hospital.
"The woman is very sad for this reason. She is subjected to violence, both psychologically and physically. Her husband is released pending trial and there is a decision of non-prosecution given for her. What is the woman supposed to do? She is in a really difficult situation.
"She has three children outside. This is an atrocity. She has lost her one child. The woman's future is completely uncertain. As the legal proceedings as to the refoulement are still ongoing, it is all uncertain. She can stay with her family outside, but no such opportunity is given.
'Meeting interrupted'
"We speak to her attorney. I am sure that other women also experience similar situations to the woman that I talked to. We, as the İHD Central Office, and I, as her attorney, will follow up this issue to the end.
"This is an unjust treatment several women forced to migrate are subjected to. While we were talking, they came all of a sudden and asked us to end the meeting. They said that they would take her to a hospital.
"I heard it while leaving, they were asking the woman, 'What did she ask you? What did you tell her?'"
About Removal Centers
Turkey has 26 centers, from which refugees are sent back to their countries of origin. According to the 2020 report of the Ministry of Interior, these centers and the number of their inhabitants are as follows:
Adana: 80
Ağrı: 400
Antalya: 170
Aydın: 564
Bursa: 200
Çanakkale: 400
Çankırı: 750
Edirne: 500
Erzurum 1: 750
Erzurum: 2: 750
Gaziantep: 750
Hatay: 192
İstanbul (Binkılıç): 120
İstanbul (Silivri): 270
İstanbul (Tuzla): 900
İzmir: 750
Kayseri: 750
Kırıkkale: 200
Kırklareli: 750
Kocaeli: 750
Malatya: 750
Muğla: 88
Van (Tuşba): 392
Van (Kurubaş): 750
Iğdır: 1500
Osmaniye: 3 thousand.
(EMK/SD)
