News outlets around the world are reporting on the humanitarian disaster, which unfolded on the morning of May 24th, when over 100 members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light from 7 countries presented themselves and the Turkish-Bulgarian border to claim asylum with the Bulgarian authorities. The group, including women, children and elderly people, were intercepted by the Turkish authorities and subjected to violent attacks and brutality at the hands of the Turkish police. The shocking events were captured on live television. The 103 members of the religious minority are currently detained by the Turkish state.
This story was picked up by several news outlets including independent news network BNN, the Sofia Globe, Religions News Agency, GlobalVoices, and the EU Reporter, who published an article entitled, “Over 100 Church members beaten and arrested at the Turkish Border”. The EU Reporter article underscores the group’s legal right to seek asylum, “Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state that refugees have the right to asylum and to a full and fair individualised assessment with the right to appeal. The members of this religious minority have followed legal procedures in order to seek asylum as per internationally agreed-upon human rights laws.”
Prominent human rights organizations have also voiced their concern for the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light Members in light of this tragic event. On May 25th, Human Rights Without Frontiers (HRWF) publishing an article on their front page entitled, “TURKEY/EU: Over 100 Ahmadi asylum-seekers beaten at the Turkish border.” The article, penned by the director of Human Rights Without Frontiers, Willy Fautré, underscores the legitimacy of the group’s claim to asylum, stating that the 103 members of the faith have faced extreme religious persecution in their home countries simply because of their religious beliefs.
HRWF was one of the 28 organizations and bodies that endorsed an open letter, drafted by the European Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN), which was sent on Tuesday May 23 to General Directorate of Border Police (Bulgaria), The Executive Director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and The Fundamental Rights Officer of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
The open letter urged the Bulgarian authorities to honor their commitment to the Law on Asylum and Refugees, Article 18 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Directive 2013/32/EU, the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely the right to asylum.
An article posted to the Religions News Agency, entitled “Followers of the minority Ahmadi Religion beaten violently at Turkish-Bulgarian border” further discusses the plight of the 103 church members who operated in accordance with the laws for seeking asylum, “They had gathered in Turkey and were on their way to the Turkish-Bulgarian border to assume their human right to request asylum directly from the Bulgarian Border Police, in line with Article 58(4) of the Law on Asylum and Refugees (LAR), which states that asylum can be applied for with a verbal statement submitted in front of the border police.”
Currently, the 103 members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light are still detained and await a decision from Turkish authorities. They have committed no crime and yet, they face persecution, imprisonment and even death in their home countries simply because of their religious beliefs. As events unfold, we urge you to support these innocent believers and lend your voice and your support to them by raising awareness of their story.
The Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light (AROPL) is a 501c3 non-profit organization. This is the Call of Imam Al-Mahdi, the saviour of mankind, to all the people of the world.
Imam Al-Mahdi has appeared, with his successors Imam Ahmed Al-Hassan, and Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq (From Them is Peace).
Imam Al-Mahdi is calling the people to the true Supremacy of God.
