According to a report published by the human rights organization Amnesty International, the Iranian authorities have killed at least 11 Afghans who tried to cross the border. The number of those killed is suspected to be significantly higher in reality.
Turkish and Iranian border authorities have repeatedly turned away Afghans trying to cross the border without offering them the opportunity to apply for asylum, says the human rights organization Amnesty International in its latest report. According to the report, those trying to cross the border fences have been shot, and those who have crossed the border have been arbitrarily detained, tortured and ill-treated, after which they have been illegally returned to Afghanistan.
– [Iranin turvallisuusjoukot] they said I entered the country illegally and if they killed me no one would know and no one would come to get me, a 28-year-old Afghan farmer who tried to cross the border in January told Amnesty researchers, according to the report.
Amnesty says it has collected evidence that Iranian authorities have killed at least 11 Afghans who tried to cross the border. The number is estimated to be probably significantly higher. According to the human rights organization, aid workers and Afghan doctors have recorded 59 deaths and 31 injuries between August and December 2021 alone.
Hundreds of thousands have fled Afghanistan
Several people interviewed by Amnesty researchers said that the Turkish authorities forced them to sign papers stating that they would return to Afghanistan voluntarily. One of the interviewees said that he had been beaten by the authorities.
– I told them that I am in danger in Afghanistan. They weren’t interested. They abused me and pushed me against the wall. I fell to the ground. Two men were holding my legs and one was sitting on my chest. Two other people pressed my finger on the paper, the interviewee said, according to the report.
According to the absolute prohibition of refoulement, no one may be returned to an area where he is threatened with the death penalty, torture, persecution or other inhumane or degrading treatment.
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have fled the country since the Taliban regained power a year ago in August. Afghanistan’s neighboring countries have closed borders to Afghans crossing the border without official travel documents, causing many to try to cross the borders outside official border crossings.