The Humanitarian Law Center Kosovo (HLC Kosovo) strongly condemns an urgent and covert deportation of six Turkish nationals (five lecturers and one doctor) from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo to their home country.
The foregoing deportation has been unprecedented and it constitutes a serious violation of the freedoms and fundamental rights of citizens, which must be a sanctuary in a state that wants to become part of the Western European system.
In the case of six deported Turkish citizens, the following principles have been violated:
Basic international principles and standards of deportation, as it has not been taken into account that the six deported Turkish citizens are political opponents of the current Turkish regime, and therefore, they may be exposed to a serious violation of their rights by the Turkish regime. Yesterday's deportation constitutes a serious violation of international human rights conventions, as well as the Kosovo Law on International Legal Cooperation which stipulates, in Article 14, that a person who can be the subject of a political offence cannot be extradited when it cannot be guaranteed that the extradited person may enjoy minimum guarantees to a fair trial provided for by Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, as well as by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights;
Basic constitutional standards of the Republic of Kosovo on the lawful treatment and respect for human rights of all citizens in the territory of the Republic, both of its citizens, and of those who legally reside in our country;
Basic rules on the status of foreign nationals in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo;
Basic principles and norms for providing legal assistance to persons suspected of having violated the law. The six deported Turkish citizens were not allowed to contact their lawyers, nor were they entitled to appeal the decision on deportation. By the arbitrary decision of the Ministry of Interior, the six deportees have simply been, violently and illegally, expelled from the country where they enjoyed the reputation of honorable citizens; and
Basic humanitarian principles and standards on the treatment of arrested persons (and suspected ones, but not sentenced by a final judgment) entitled to contact their family members prior to their deportation.
The deported persons had long-term permits to reside in Kosovo, together with their family members, who, until the moment of their arrest, had actively participated in one of the most sensitive segments of the Kosovo society - the education system in general and youth education. The deportation has painted a black picture of Kosovo in the world.
The HLC Kosovo deems that it is not sufficient only to identify the “guilty ones” and to dismiss the Head of the IAK and the Minister of Interior for the yesterday's tarnished reputation of Kosovo. In order to prevent a similar case from happening again, it is necessary to determine political responsibility for brutal violations of elementary human rights and to establish a legal mechanism that will permanently prevent the possibility of playing with the lives of those who believe they can be safe in Kosovo.