Turkish top court finds rights violation in case of unlawfully deported Tajikistani man

Duvar English

The Turkish Constitutional Court has ruled that authorities had violated the rights of a Tajikistani man who was deported from Turkey in 2017, online news portal Bianet reported on Jan. 6.

The top court ordered the state to pay 26,000 liras ($3,500) in compensation to the man, who is only known by initials K.S.

The court said in its ruling that Turkish authorities had not investigated claims the Tajikistani man of Uzbek origin would be exposed to “ill-treatment” once he was deported from Turkey.

“A detailed investigation should be undertaken to determine if there is a risk of [human rights] violation in the relevant country [before deportation],” said the court.

The applicant entered Turkey through legal means, along with his children and wife, on March 11, 2015. Although he had a residence permit in Turkey, his house was raided on allegations that he was linked to ISIS. The Istanbul Governor's Office ruled for his deportation, but the man appealed it at the Istanbul 1st Administrative Court.

During the course of the trial, the man was sent to the İzmir Repatriation Center, from where he was deported to the Tajikistani capital of Dushanbe on March 10, 2017.

Shortly afterward, the Istanbul 1st Administrative Court ruled for the annulment of the deportation decision, saying there was no credible evidence linking the applicant to ISIS.

The Constitutional Court said in its ruling on Jan. 6 that the lower had confirmed that the applicant was not “one of the people who should have been deported.”

The top court said that the authorities had violated Article 40 of the Constitution (“Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms”) as the man's case had not been finalized by the local court at the time of his deportation.

“Everyone whose constitutional rights and freedoms have been violated has the right to request prompt access to the competent authorities," reads Article 40.