May 27, 2023
Members of religious minority held at Turkish-Bulgarian border face prison, execution if deported
More than 100 members of The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light, a persecuted religious minority, who have presented themselves at the Turkish-Bulgarian border claiming asylum on May 24, face deportation within the next seven to 10 days, a decision that will most likely subject them to either imprisonment or death sentences in their countries of origin, a media statement by the religious grouping said.
Issuing deportation decisions for these families would be a clear violation on Türkiye’s behalf of the core principle of non-refoulement, which according to international refugee and human rights law, prohibits returning individuals to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm.