Two foreign women detained during Istanbul protest to be deported

Aynur Tekin / DUVAR

Turkish authorities have threatened Azerbaijani Saida and Italian Dalila, who were detained during the protest to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25 in Istanbul, with deportation.

While most of the women who were detained on Nov. 25 evening were released later, two foreign women are being held in Selimpaşa Repatriation Center in Istanbul’s Silivri district.

Lawyer Sezen Ezer, who visited the women at the Center where they were held, described this move as “an unlawful practice.” 

Ezer stated that the women are in good spirit. Noting that no decision has been made in the file yet, Ezer said it may take up to 48 hours for the decision to be issued.

“Deportation or administrative detention will likely be the decision. Because the Immigration Administration has been making such decisions very often lately. We experienced a similar process in the protests against the withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention. Authorities decided to deport some Iranian women then,” Ezer further said.

Ezer noted that Dalila and Saida are kept together with many women in an unhygienic environment.

The lawyers stated that they will object to a possible administrative detention or deportation decisions.

The authorities then decided to deport both women and banned them from entering the country, Mezopotamya News Agency on Nov. 29 reported. Accordingly, the lawyers appealed the decision.

Thousands marching to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on Nov. 25 were met with a police crackdown in several provinces of Turkey.

In Istanbul, protestors gathered in front of the underground tunnel (“Taksim Tünel”) near historic İstiklal Avenue as per the call of women organizations.

Turkey has made moves in recent years to lessen protections for women. In July 2021, the country formally withdrew from the Istanbul Convention (the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence), a move that advocacy groups say was a major setback for women in the country. Turkey was the first country to sign the Convention back in 2011.

(English version by Alperen Şen)

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