Tunisian man denied entry into Turkey has inflicted self-harm, says Istanbul governor's office

Duvar English

The Istanbul Governor's Office has refuted the allegations that a Tunisian national who was denied entry into Turkey was battered by the security personnel at the Istanbul Airport.

The governor's office said in a statement late on March 12 that security video footage has shown the man had inflicted self-harm by hitting his head to the door of the room where he was being held.

“Once authorities have seen through the security cameras that the individual was self-harming himself by hitting his head to the door, the emergency health team was immediately called in; but the man has refused the treatment and shared the images that he has recorded with his mobile phone on social media,” said the governor's office.

The statement came after the man, identified as Ramzi Lebdi, posted images of himself with an injury on his head at the Istanbul Airport.

Atfer flowing into Istanbul Airport from Belgrade on March 12, Lebdi was denied entry into Turkey on “general security grounds.”

The airport authorities placed him into a waiting room reserved for inadmissible passengers in an attempt to send him back to Belgrade.

“Since he was disturbing the other passengers at the waiting room, he was placed in a room where he could be by himself until his procedures would be finalized,” said the governor's office.

The governor's office said the security camera recordings display the incident of self-harm from the beginning to the end. “The personnel on duty have not undertaken any physical intervention that might cause the individual's injury.”

The governor's office also shared a link to the video of the relevant security footage.

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