Date: 02 June 2025
PRESS STATEMENT| UNIVERSAL RIGHTS ASSOCIATION (URA)
The Universal Rights Association (URA) expresses deep concern over the recent unlawful abduction and forced deportation of Orhan Artar and his children from Rwanda to Türkiye. According to credible sources, the family was under UNHCR protection in Kenya and attempted to travel to Europe through Rwanda, where they were intercepted and forcibly returned to Türkiye — a clear violation of international law.
This incident echoes previous documented cases of transnational repression by the Turkish state. The most notable is the abduction of Zabit Kişi, a former teacher abducted in Kazakhstan and secretly transferred to Türkiye by operatives of Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in 2017. Mr. Kişi was subjected to 108 days of incommunicado detention, severe torture, and forced confessions. In a landmark decision, the Turkish Constitutional Court confirmed the failure of the state to investigate these grave allegations and awarded damages.
Reports by international bodies such as:
have repeatedly documented Türkiye’s involvement in enforced disappearances, abductions from foreign soil, and systematic torture of perceived dissidents.
We urge the international community to:
In addition, we call on the governments of Türkiye and Rwanda to:
In solidarity,
Universal Rights Association (URA)