Human Rights Watch (HRW) published a report Thursday claiming that Turkish border guards are shooting Syrian refugees while also using excessive force and torture against asylum seekers entering the country. The report cited hundreds of recent deaths along the Turkey/Syria border and condemned the actions of the Turkish government.
The report began with a call to action, with HRW stating that the Turkish government should hold border guards responsible for these human rights abuses. The report then referred to two specific instances of recent harm by Turkish border agents. The first involved a group of Turkish border guards beating and torturing a group of eight Syrian refugees attempting to cross the border into Turkey. Two of the eight refugees reportedly died in Turkish custody. The second incident involved a Turkish border guard shooting and killing a 59 year old Syrian man who was plowing his land in an area near the border of the two countries.
In addition to these two recent deaths, human rights NGO Syrian Observatory for Human Rights released a report recording 11 deaths and over 20 injuries resulting from Turkish border agents’ unlawful use of excessive force and torture.
Hugh Williamson, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch, called on the Turkish government to improve upon their investigations into these incidents, stating “Arbitrary killings of Syrians are particularly egregious and part of a pattern of brutality by Turkish border guards that the government has failed to curb or investigate effectively.”
This report follows a finding from HRW in early March which documented 234 deaths and 231 injuries resulting from Turkish border guards along the Turkey/Syria border since 2015. Turkey has responded by claiming that border guards will face consequences, citing a report which showed that three Turkish border guards were placed in pre-trial detention for their alleged crimes along the border.
The report from HRW responded and stated that the Turkish government wasn’t taking enough action to effectively curb human rights abuses along the border. The report then concluded with a call for the Turkish government to increase border guard accountability and monitoring along the border to ensure that further human rights abuses do not take place.
