Nabil Rochdi, 30, and Azeddin Remash, 27, were deported in January to the Syrian city of Azaz despite repeatedly telling Turkish authorities that they were Moroccan nationals with no ties to Syria.
The two Moroccans were deported to Syria by Turkish officials together with a group of Syrian refugees via the Bab al-Salam border crossing in northern Aleppo.
Remash and Rochdi attempted to enter Europe illegally across Turkey’s land border; they were deported after being mistakenly identified as Syrians.
Remash was detained after attempting to enter Greece and was then taken to a deportation camp in Edirne and then to the southern city of Adana.
“I submitted my documents and notified the Turkish officials of my Moroccan citizenship. Despite my protests, they insisted on sending me to Syria,” Remash told Middle East Eye.
He added, “they didn’t even provide us access to an interpreter to translate. We tried to communicate with them, but they sent us to Syria against our choice. I don’t have any ties to Syria.”
Roshdi arrived in Turkey via the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul before attempting to enter Bulgaria, where he was stopped by Turkish security forces.
They forcibly took me to Syria “despite my repeated declarations that I am not Syrian,” said Roshdi.
“I told them that I should be sent back to Morocco, but they disregarded my pleas. We had trouble reaching Moroccan officials because there were no translators present”, he continued.
When they arrived at the anti-smuggling department in Azaz, their true nationality was confirmed.
Both men said that Turkish officers mistreated them while they were being detained.
The Moroccan Embassy in Ankara blocked the men’s phone numbers after they repeatedly attempted to contact the consular personnel, according to the head of Turkey’s anti-smuggling and drug department at the Bab al-Salama, close to the city of Azaz.
The men’s case was then turned over to a court in Azaz, he continued, after Istanbul sent the men their passports and National IDs.
add your comment
Terms of publication : Not to offend the writer, people, sacred things, or attack religions or the divine self, and refrain from racist incitement and insults.