UN slams Kenya over deportation of Turkish refugees

NAIROBI, Kenya - The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has slammed Kenya over the deportation of four Turkish nationals while expressing 'deep concerns' regarding the incident that could be in breach of various international statutes.

According to the government of Kenya, the refugees were repatriated following the request by the government of Turkey. The statement comes after reports of several people being abducted in the capital city, Nairobi, on Friday.

A British national told the BBC he and several Turkish citizens had been abducted by masked men. He said he had been released after eight hours when he showed his alleged abductors a copy of his British passport.

"UNHCR urges the Government of Kenya to abide by their international legal obligations, and in particular, to respect the principle of non-refoulement [forced return of refugees], which protects asylum-seekers and refugees from any measure that could lead to their removal to a place where their life or freedom would be threatened," UNHCR said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya said it agreed to Turkey's request to repatriate the refugees because the East African nation has "robust historical and strategic relations" with Turkey, and that it had been assured the refugees would be "treated with dignity".

Multiple sources in Ankara say the four men were deported because they are believed to be followers of the Gulen movement, a powerful Islamic community with followers in Turkey and worldwide, whose leader has just died.

The Gulen movement runs a network of schools in Kenya and around the world. Known as Hizmet or "service" in Turkey, it was blamed for a 2016 coup attempt and later declared a terrorist organization, BBC reports.

Under the UN's 1951 Refugee Convention, refugees should not be returned to a country where they face serious threats to their life or freedom. Turkey has remained silent over the incident, which has been widely condemned.

A Kenyan law firm named Mukele and Kakai which said it was acting on behalf of the four men, warned various airlines against ferrying them abroad, maintaining that they were enjoying refugee status in the country. It termed them victims of political victimization.

The Kenyan government said it had an "unswerving commitment to the protection and promotion of refugee rights" and was "committed to the privacy and confidentiality of the repatriated individuals".

The British national, Necdet Seyitoğlu, told the BBC that six other people he knew - all Turkish citizens - were also abducted in the same manner from different locations in Nairobi.

Turkey is often in negative news headlines with President Tayyip Erdogan accused of targeting opposition figures in the country. Turkey has close bilateral ties with the Republic of Kenya, which hosts over 800,000 refugees from across the world.

GAROWE ONLINE