Amnesty International: Iran and Turkey pushing back Afghan refugees, violating international law

According to a report released by Amnesty International on Wednesday, August 30, Iran and Turkey are violating international law by barring Afghan refugees from entering their countries or by returning them against their will to live in danger under the Taliban dictatorship.

Following the US’s catastrophic military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, which allowed the hardline Taliban to restore power, hundreds of thousands of people fled the nation.

The bulk, however, had to evacuate by land, primarily toward Iran and then Turkey, while individuals who helped US forces, in particular, were airlifted out.

They are particularly vulnerable to border police who use violence or threats to keep them out or push them back because many of them are destitute and lack passports or other acceptable travel credentials, according to Amnesty International.

According to the report, “Iranian and Turkish security forces have unlawfully used firearms against Afghans trying to cross the border irregularly as a deterrent and a pushback method, sometimes resulting in deaths or injuries.”

Amnesty claimed that their conclusions were derived from interviews with a large number of Afghans, including 74 who were forcibly returned, occasionally with children or other family members.

According to the NGO, there have been several instances of “unlawful killings, pushbacks by shooting and other unlawful returns, arbitrary detention, and torture and other ill-treatment of Afghans at the hands of both Iranian and Turkish officials.”