Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party has raised questions with the Interior Minister regarding the fate of Ali Veli, a Kurdish refugee from Syria’s Qamishli (Qamişlo), amidst allegations of abduction and torture following his release from prison.
Ali Veli, a 19-year-old Syrian refugee, vanished following his release from a Turkish prison on 13 March. Subsequently, his family received a distressing torture video along with threats from unidentified individuals speaking Arabic and Turkish. Kurdish sources have suggested the possible involvement of Turkish intelligence, indicating a pattern of using abductees as bargaining chips for espionage.
Sezai Temelli, Deputy Group Chair of the DEM Party and Member of Parliament for Muş (Mûş), has submitted pressing inquiries to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, seeking clarity on the government’s awareness of the torture footage and steps taken to address the situation.
In the queries, Temelli underscored the urgency of the matter, stressing the need for immediate action to ensure the safety of Ali Veli and his family. Questions focused on the government’s knowledge of the torture footage, Ali Veli’s current location and the procedural aspects of his deportation.
Do you have any information about Ali Veli, the refugee youth who disappeared after being released from Erzincan Prison? Have any missing person reports been filed regarding this individual to your ministry?
Where was Ali Veli taken after being handed over to the gendarmerie to be taken to the Migration Authority? If he was sent to a Repatriation Centre to be deported to Syria, which Repatriation Centre was it? Why was his family not informed?
If Ali Veli was deported from the Repatriation Centre, were legal procedures followed? Was the deportation decision, along with its reasons, notified to Ali Veli’s legal representative or lawyer?
Do you have any knowledge of the torture footage involving Ali Veli? Have you taken any action regarding an attempt to torture a refugee under Turkey’s administrative oversight and threaten his family with death?
Have you initiated an administrative and judicial investigation into the Erzincan Migration Directorate and the Repatriation Centre?
