Cross-Border Abductions, Forced Transfers and Accountability
Cross-border security operations raise fundamental questions about the protection of individuals against arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and torture. When apprehension and transfer take place through accelerated administrative procedures, informal handovers or intelligence cooperation, the opportunity to challenge removal may disappear before a court can intervene. The consequences can extend beyond the transfer itself, including prolonged imprisonment, allegations of ill-treatment and difficulties establishing who exercised control over the individual at each stage.
This SRL Swiss report examines extraterritorial apprehensions and forced transfers connected to terrorism allegations originating in Türkiye, focusing predominantly on people associated with the Hizmet/Gülen movement. Drawing on judicial decisions, United Nations records, official statements and documented case reporting, it examines the safeguards required before removal, the treatment of individuals after transfer and the responsibilities of officials in both sending and receiving States.
Transfers and the circumvention of safeguards
The report examines the October 2024 events in Kenya, where Turkish asylum seekers were reportedly abducted and subsequently transferred to Türkiye. Kenyan authorities confirmed the removal of four Turkish nationals at Türkiye’s request and referred to assurances of humane treatment. The report distinguishes that confirmation from allegations concerning the initial apprehensions and the involvement of particular agencies. It identifies questions requiring investigation: the individuals’ protection status, the legal basis for detention, access to lawyers, the availability of a remedy capable of suspending removal and the monitoring of diplomatic assurances.
The Kosovo and Moldova cases demonstrate the significance of procedures that enable people to be removed before protective mechanisms can operate effectively. In Ozdil and Others v the Republic of Moldova, the European Court of Human Rights found violations of the rights to liberty and respect for private and family life, describing an extra-legal transfer that circumvented domestic and international safeguards. The report uses this judgment to underline the sending State’s own responsibility when acting on a foreign security request.
Protection must also address foreseeable onward transfer. In M.T. v Sweden, the Committee against Torture concluded that the applicant’s proposed removal to Kosovo would violate Article 3 of the Convention against Torture because of the risk of subsequent transfer to Türkiye. The report examines how personal circumstances, institutional affiliations and earlier transfer practices inform that assessment.
Recent cases and the importance of judicial scrutiny
The report considers developments involving Orhan Artar in Rwanda, Mustafa Güngör in Kenya, Emre Çınar in Mozambique and Mustafa Göktepe in Brazil. These cases produced different outcomes. Artar’s transfer to Türkiye was reported as completed; Güngör and Çınar were released from detention, while Göktepe’s extradition was reportedly rejected.
These distinctions are central to the analysis. Detention, an extradition request and a completed forced transfer cannot be treated as interchangeable events. Examining their different outcomes reveals both continuing exposure to cross-border coercive measures and the capacity of judicial scrutiny to prevent removal.
Consequences after transfer and accountability
The report follows the analysis beyond the border crossing. It examines reported prison sentences imposed on individuals transferred from Kosovo and allegations concerning the treatment of Orhan İnandı and Zabit Kişi. These accounts raise questions about undisclosed custody, torture, coerced statements and discrepancies between the date of actual apprehension and the beginning of officially recorded detention.
Establishing responsibility requires reconstruction of the entire sequence: who apprehended the person, where they were held, which authorities arranged transport and handover, and what happened after arrival. The report also examines accountability proceedings in Kosovo, demonstrating why investigation must extend to officials in the sending State as well as those in the receiving State.
Principal recommendations
SRL Swiss calls for an individual assessment of foreseeable risks before every form of transfer, prompt access to legal assistance and an independent remedy capable of suspending removal. Flight records, handover documentation, detention registers, communications and medical evidence should be preserved and independently examined.
Credible allegations of unlawful apprehension, disappearance or torture should lead to effective investigations and, where individual responsibility is established through fair proceedings, appropriate criminal and disciplinary consequences. Transferred persons must have access to registered detention, independent medical examination, judicial review and protection against the use of statements obtained through torture.
Submitted to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, the report requests case-specific explanations and records from the States concerned. Throughout its analysis, it distinguishes established judicial findings from allegations requiring further investigation and records Türkiye’s rejection of the alleged violations.
For the detailed case analyses, legal framework, recommendations and source references, read the complete SRL Swiss report below.