In response to the decision of Greece’s Appeals Committee to uphold a decision on the inadmissibility of an asylum claim by a Syrian and which allows his expulsion back to Turkey, John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe, said:
“This ruling takes for granted that a Syrian will be fully protected in Turkey, and hence is fundamentally flawed.”
“The idea that Turkey fully respects the rights of asylum seekers is a fiction. The new Appeals Committee should not have deemed Turkey a safe country for Syrians when all evidence suggests that international safeguards and protections continue to be flouted.”
“With lawyers and international monitors still denied entry into the closed camps to which this man could be sent, any suggestion that Turkey has suddenly overhauled its inadequate asylum system remains in serious doubt.”
“The idea that Turkey fully respects the rights of asylum seekers is a fiction. The new Appeals Committee should not have deemed Turkey a safe country for Syrians when all evidence suggests that international safeguards and protections continue to be flouted.”
John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Director for Europe
Background:
The Syrian asylum seeker left Syria in June and remained in Turkey for about one-and-a-half months before entering Greece. He did not apply for asylum while in Turkey.
He is currently in police custody.
Amnesty International strongly contests the concept of a ‘safe third country’ in general, as this undermines the individual right to have asylum claims fully and fairly processed.