Details on the case of the deportation of blogger Farhat Meimankuliyev (born 08/07/1992) have been clarified.
On May 19, 2023, a young man was detained in an apartment he rented in the Fatih district of Istanbul, along with other Turkmen citizens. The basis for the signal to the police was an anonymous report about the “illegal residence of illegal immigrants”.
Together with him, three of his roommates were taken to the police station. Farhad, together with Bakhtiyar Gurbanov and his wife Yulduzhan Nurmuradova, were first taken to the police station, then Yulduzkhan was sent to the women's deportation center in Silivri, and the blogger was sent to the deportation center in the suburban Istanbul district of Tuzla. Bakhtiyar Gurbanov was released directly from the police station, and the name and surname of the third roommate does not appear in the file. On May 26, the Youtube channel "People's Movement DVT" announced that Yulduzkhan Nurmuradova was allowed to go home.
According to the case, during the detention, the blogger introduced himself as Farhat Durdiyev Taganbayoglu. After checking in the data system, it turned out that he was listed as Farhat Meimankuliev. The database does not show that he had a Turkish “kimlik” - identity document, only a Turkmen passport. Since December 2018, “this citizen of Turkmenistan has been in Turkey illegally.” The case refers to Law 6458 on Aliens and International Protection. Code Ç-137 “foreigners taken into custody for the purpose of deportation from the country” was applied to Farhad, as well as Code Ç-152 “ban on entering Turkey” from 05.05.2023.
On May 20, Farhat was deported for violating Turkish migration law. Usually in such cases, the deportee is required to make a statement to voluntarily leave the country, which was signed by Farhat.
The assurances of the blogger himself that he has international protection were discussed on social networks. However, the case file shows that Farhad does not have refugee status in the Turkish data system and has not applied for one.
Unfortunately, there is no information about lawyers in the case, although Farhat's confidant, a certain “Yunus”, convinced his compatriots that he had hired lawyers and was keeping this case under control.
Turkmen Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
