Syrian refugees detained in Turkey have been beaten, denied food and medical care and coerced into signing “voluntary” return documents, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported, citing a new report that details allegations of systemic abuse in Turkish deportation centers.
The report, published by Syrians for Truth & Justice (STJ), is based on firsthand accounts from 19 former detainees held in centers across Turkey in 2024. STJ is a Syrian human rights organization that documents violations against civilians in Syria and among Syrian communities abroad, with a focus on accountability and transitional justice, which refers to how societies respond to the legacies of massive and serious human rights violations.
The report documents at least five deaths linked to mistreatment, widespread use of physical violence and conditions so severe that some detainees said they agreed to return to Syria just to escape the abuse, despite fearing for their safety there.
Turkey has granted legal status to approximately 3.5 million Syrian nationals who fled the civil war in Syria that began in 2011. Initially welcomed under a temporary protection policy, many Syrians settled in Turkish cities, sparking debates about integration, economic strain and cultural differences.
One teenage boy with kidney failure died after Turkish authorities allegedly denied him food, water and access to a toilet during a multi-day transfer between detention centers. He was being transported from İstanbul to the Oğuzeli Deportation Center in Gaziantep, ahead of deportation to Syria. “He asked repeatedly to use the bathroom and to take his medication, but the guards refused,” said a fellow detainee named Ahmed. “By the time we arrived, his condition had worsened dramatically. He died the next day.”
Another case involved Ibrahim Ezz El-Din, a young Syrian man who died on July 23, 2024, while in Turkish custody. Authorities said he succumbed to a pulmonary embolism, but fellow detainee Mohammed, who was held with him at the Pehlivanköy Deportation Center in Kırklareli, reported that Ibrahim arrived severely bruised after being beaten by Turkish border guards.
“We pleaded with the gendarmerie to get him medical help, but they ignored us,” Mohammed said. “When he stopped breathing, it was too late.”
Conditions inside the detention centers, particularly in Şanlıurfa, Tuzla and Oğuzeli, were described as dire. Detainees recounted overcrowding, skin disease outbreaks and minimal access to water or medical attention. The facilities, once refugee camps, now house thousands of Syrians awaiting deportation.
Halim, who was detained in Şanlıurfa for four months, described how fellow detainee Anas Balthajji was tortured for possessing an extra cigarette. “They took him to a room without cameras, forced him to kneel, and beat him unconscious,” Halim said. “Even the medical staff were complicit. When we brought him in, the doctor used disinfectant to revive him but offered no real care.”
Several detainees said they were forced to sign “voluntary return” documents under coercion. Zahra’, a 50-year-old Syrian woman, said she was detained in Antakya along with her son following a security sweep after anti-Syrian riots in Kayseri. When she protested their treatment, police beat her son in front of her. “Blood was pouring from his head,” she said. “They told us we could leave only if we signed and filmed a statement saying we wanted to go to Syria.”
Rajab, another detainee, was arrested in İstanbul after his wife shared a TikTok video with Arabic text criticizing life in Turkey. Detained in Esenyurt, he was beaten by multiple officers for refusing to sign documents in Turkish. He was later transferred to the Şanlıurfa center, where guards reportedly used the threat of confinement in a refrigerated “meat room” as a method of intimidation.
“One young man who had been there for months tried to hang himself,” Rajab said. “Afterward, they warned him not to cause trouble again or he’d be put in the cold room.”
Majed, a Syrian from Aleppo with protection status in Turkey, said he was detained in Şanlıurfa’s Haran camp after questioning police officers who visited his home. There, he witnessed the brutal beating of another detainee, Nidal A., who had been working legally in Gaziantep when detained. “Seven guards beat him with batons for over 30 minutes,” Majed said. “He was barely conscious when they dragged him away.”
At the Oğuzeli center, another detainee, Abdul Rahman, recalled how guards fired live rounds to disperse detainees protesting a lack of clean water. This followed Abdul Rahman’s arrest during a police crackdown in Gaziantep after Syrian-owned shops were targeted in anti-Syrian attacks. “One young man cursed the president in anger, and the guards beat him brutally, then took him away,” he said.
In İstanbul’s Sultanbeyli district, a man named Alaa was detained along with his wife and sick child following an unrelated police raid. He described being forced to sign a return form with his thumbprint after being beaten by security personnel. “We were held in a hall with 50 families. When I objected, they beat me until my nose and mouth bled,” he said.
STJ estimates that more than 85,000 Syrians were deported from Turkey in 2024, primarily through crossings into northern Syria, often into areas under Turkish or Turkish-backed control. Many of the deportees were not given legal representation and were unaware of their rights.
The report also emphasizes European Union funding for Turkish detention infrastructure. Witnesses observed EU logos on beds, supplies and signage in the facilities. Since 2007 the EU has contributed more than €200 million toward deportation-related projects in Turkey, some of which included barriers like barbed wire fences and surveillance upgrades.
For many of the returned Syrians, the trauma persists.
“I signed the papers just to get out,” said Majed. “But the real fear began when I returned to Syria, unsure if I would survive another day.”