Under Article 68(8) LFIP, detained applicants for international protection will be provided opportunities to meet with their legal representatives, UNHCR officials and notaries. The law, however, fails to make explicit reference to the right of detained applicants to meet with NGO representatives. It is considered that this deliberate absence is meant to limit or deny detained applicants’ access to NGO legal counsellors, which must be seen as an arbitrary reduction of the safeguard in Article 68 LFIP.
Detained applicants may also receive visitors. In this regard, all visits will be subject to permission. Visits to detained applicants at border premises are subject to permission from the Vice-Governor’s Office in charge of the border gate. Visits to detained applicants in other facilities are subject to the permission of the PMM official in charge of the facility. Request for visiting a detained applicant may be turned down where the “applicant’s condition and the general circumstances are not suitable”. This vague formulation raises concerns that arbitrary restrictions may be imposed on visitors’ access to the centres. Detention authorities shall determine the duration of the approved meetings and visits. On the other hand, they are required to take measures to ensure confidentiality of the encounters.
Access of lawyers to Removal Centres
From 2019, lawyers were able to visit their clients in many removal centres without showing power of attorney or written request in many removal centres. Detainees are not able to maintain regular contacts with people outside the centre, the mobile phones are not authorised, there are limited public phones available. This implementation makes harder for refugees to reach out to lawyers directly, it is common that lawyers become aware of the request through their relatives[1]. This continued in 2023, when NGOs and social networks of the person in detention informed lawyers of the presence of their clients in removal centres.
Lawyers often struggle to locate their (potential) clients even when they have complete details, including ID numbers and names. Confirming clients’ locations, examining their files, and arranging meetings can take days. In 2023, obtaining copies of clients’ files or clear information about their locations remained a persistent issue. Centres’ officials often impose limits on name inquiries, the number of clients a lawyer can visit, and the duration of meetings. Additionally, clients may be transferred to another centre in a different city, complicating the lawyers’ efforts to reach them[2].
As mentioned in the report of Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye on Tuzla Removal Centre[3], in situations where too many lawyers arrive at the Center within the same time frame, it has been stated that, in order to avoid any deprivation of rights, lawyers’ meetings are limited to a maximum of three foreign nationals and fifteen minutes. Lawyers who wish to meet with more clients must obtain the administration’s approval after all other lawyers have completed their meetings. Similar implementations take in place in various centres[4].
Attitudes toward lawyers in some centres may be negative[5]: Lawyers sometimes spend a day to be able to see a client, due to long waiting period, and remote locations. Various problems[6] arise due to the physical conditions of these centres. Issues include a small number of interview rooms (Van, Iğdır), unsuitable room conditions such as poor ventilation (Çankırı), broken (Van) or limited telephones (Pehlivanköy, Edirne) for interpreter connections, malfunctioning doors (Adana), and inadequate insulation (Akyurt). Additionally, meetings are sometimes interrupted by officials who knock or open the door. These interruptions, combined with the limited time available to gather information with the help of an interpreter, negatively impact the quality of the meetings with lawyers. Such behavior undermines the principle of confidentiality between the lawyer and their client[7]. In Selimpaşa, it was problematic not to have a waiting room for lawyers, a container has been prepared to solve this issue; In Tuzla Removal Center, lawyers have to wait outside due to the lack of a waiting room for lawyers. Lawyers within the scope of legal aid can connect to the Legal Aid Translation Support Line using the phone in the lawyers’ rooms, and that the translators at the centres also assist in communication between the lawyer and the foreign nationals.
There is often no obstacle for the notary to enter, but the fees and related expenses are significant. Fees vary depending on whether the person has an ID and speaks Turkish or not. A power of attorney document cost start from 783,82 TRY (approx. 23 EUR). However, if the lawyer is assigned through legal aid, this power of attorney can be presented to the court. Administrative courts provinces may not accept the assignment of legal aid from the bar of another provience and demand a separate power of attorney.[8]
The removal centres (such as Ankara, Çankırı) located far away from the city centres without any public transportation and the only available transportation is by car or taxi. Also, in Istanbul, removal centres are often very difficult to be reached, as they are 60 km away from the centre. Accessing to the removal centres due to the remote locations and lack of transportation is still problematic in 2023[9].
Attorneys in İstanbul used CIMER (Communication Directorate of the Presidency) extensively in cases where there was no access to files, and it was effective. CIMER is an online platform established to provide a quick and effective response to requests, complaints and applications for information from the public.[10] The administrative complaints mechanism is ineffective, judicial methods are rather slow, but CIMER is a very useful remedy in this regard.
Access of UNHCR and NGOs to Removal Centres
The Removal Centres Regulation does not expressly regulate the conditions upon which UNHCR, European Delegation in Türkiye and NGOs have access to Removal Centres.
In practice, UNHCR does not enjoy unhindered access to Removal Centres but has developed working modalities with PMM. UNHCR can access access to removal centres in 2023 with sharing the details of visit including the date in advance with the authorities which hinders an effective monitoring mechanism[11]. The European Delegation in Turkiye also has access to removal centres as the EU has provided financial support to the construction of new removal centres to monitor who the EU funds were used and to evaluate the projects on the spot check. By the end of 2023, the European Delegation had conducted three visits to removal centres in Ankara and Şanlıurfa.[12]
UNHCR has access to removal centres, with prior notification and upon PMM’s approval[13]. NGOs have no established protocols with PMM for access to Removal Centres. Regarding access to and contact with family members, practice varies across the centres.
[1] Information provided by stakeholders, March – April 2024.
[2] Ibid.
[3] TIHEK, İSTANBUL TUZLA GERİ GÖNDERME MERKEZİ ZİYARET RAPORU Rapor no: 2023/16, available here
[4] Information provided by stakeholders, March-April 2024.
[5] Information provided by stakeholders, March-April 2024.
[6] Information provided by stakeholders, March-April 2024.
[7] Information provided by stakeholders, March-April 2024.
[8] Information provided by a stakeholder, March 2021, May 2023 and March-April 2024.
[9] Information provided by a stakeholder, March 2020, May 2023 and March-April 2024.
[10] See, Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, Directorate of Communications, “CIMER Revolution: In today’s Türkiye, our citizens have a share in state administration”, 3 December 2019. Available here
[11] Information provided by a stakeholder, March 2024.
[12] Information provided by a stakeholder, March 2024.
[13] Information provided by a stakeholder, March 2024.