Human rights activists have condemned a move by the government to repatriate four Turkish nationals who were seeking asylum in Kenya.
On Monday, October 21, 2024, the government confirmed that four Turkish nationals who were seeking asylum in Kenya and reported abducted last week had been repatriated to their home country.
In a statement on Monday, October 21, 2024, Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei said the four were repatriated to their home country on Friday, October 18, 2024, at the request of the government of Türkey.
“Kenya confirms that four Nationals of the Republic of Türkiye were repatriated to their home country on Friday, 18 October 2024, at the request of the government of Türkiye. Kenya acceded to this request on the strength of the robust historical and strategic relations anchored on bilateral instruments between our respective countries. The four have been residing in Kenya as refugees,” Sing’oei stated.
According to Sing’oei, the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has received assurances from the Turkish authorities that the four will be treated with dignity in keeping with national and international law.
“We are shocked by the Government of Kenya’s admission that Kenyan law enforcement and foreign affairs agencies played a role in the refoulement and forced return of Mustafa Genç, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Hüseyin Yeşilsu, four Turkish nationals from Kenya to Turkey. Tragically, the Government has placed four human beings at grave risk as well as Kenya’s standing as a sanctuary nation for those fleeing persecution and war,” the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya) stated on Monday.
“It undermines Kenya’s credibility as the newest member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and torpedoes the United Nations Universal Periodic Review process planned for next year.”
Turkish nationals repatriated
In a statement on Monday, October 21, 2024, the Police Reforms Working Group expressed its shock after Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei admitted that Kenyan law enforcement and foreign affairs agencies played a role in the refoulement and forced return of Mustafa Genç, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Hüseyin Yeşilsu, four Turkish nationals from Kenya to Turkey.
“The principle of non-refoulement is a cornerstone of refugee protection. It has been recognised in international humanitarian law for more than seventy years. The 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the 1969 OAU Convention on refugees and the 2021 Refugee Law of Kenya explicitly prohibit the return of refugees to a place where they are likely to face the very danger from which they fled. These obligations cannot be traded for commercial, diplomatic or trade interests without violating both national and international law,” the group noted.
“International refugee law recognizes that refugees may only be returned if they pose a danger to national security or, after due process, are found guilty of a crime that threatens the safety of others. The Government of Kenya has provided no evidence that the four individuals posed any such threat.”
On Saturday, October 19, 2024, Amnesty International Amnesty International Kenya Section Director Irungu Houghton announced that seven Turkish nationals had been abducted by unknown persons.
The seven Turkey nationals, Mustafa Genç, his son Abdullah Genç, Hüseyin Yeşilsu, Necdet Seyitoğlu, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and his wife Saadet Taşçı were kidnapped by unknown individuals on Friday, October 18, 2024.
“While Abdullah Genç, Necdet Seyitoğlu, and Saadet Taşçı have been reportedly released, Öztürk Uzun, Alparslan Taşçı, and Hüseyin Yeşilsu remain missing and are at grave risk of refoulement – a serious violation of international law,” Houghton stated.
According to the Police Reforms Working Group, rather than returning asylum seekers to governments that they had fled from, a third country for safe resettlement could have been found.
“Tragically, the government has placed four human beings at grave risk as well as Kenya’s standing as a sanctuary nation for those fleeing persecution and war. It undermines Kenya’s credibility as the newest member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and torpedoes the United Nations Universal Periodic Review process planned for next year,” the group added.
The four Turkish nationals are associated with the Hizmet Movement, a faith-inspired civil society movement in Turkey.
The group says the move punctures Kenya’s legal commitments and its international moral standing and threatens three decades of confidence in Kenya’s humanitarian protection for the 780,000 refugees on Kenyan soil.
The Police Reforms Working Group-Kenya is an alliance of organizations focused on human rights-compliant policing, who include Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Kariobangi Paralegal Network, Defenders Coalition, Katiba Institute, Social Justice Centres Working Group (SJCW), Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), International Justice Mission (IJM-K), HAKI Africa,
Amnesty International Kenya, Women Empowerment Link, Social Welfare Development Program
(SOWED), Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya),
International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ Kenya), Transparency International Kenya,
Shield For Justice, Wangu Kanja Foundation, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium.
