05.11.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Iranian national, arrested by police in Istanbul, may be facing forcible return to Iran, where he could be at risk of serious human rights abuses, including torture or ill-treatment ("Turkey - UA 318/03") [#17402],  [ID 9576]

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24.09.2003 - Source: Amnesty International

Kurdish Iranian woman currently detained in Ankara Police Headquarters, is in imminent danger of being forcibly returned to Iran, where she would be at risk of arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment due to her political activism ("Turkey - UA 276/03") [#16273],  [ID 9577]

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06.2002 - Source: US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

US Committee for Refugees: The only durable solution for recognized Iranian refugees is resettlement to a third country ("World Refugee Survey 2002") [#9981],  [ID 9578]

"By year’s end, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which runs a status-determination procedure parallel to the government’s, had recognized 2,867 persons as refugees, of whom 2,247 were Iranians, 455 Iraqis, and 165 other nationalities. UNHCR regards all persons recognized under its mandate in Turkey as being in need of resettlement to other countries.
[...]
In 2001, the Turkish authorities granted 92 percent of Iranians temporary asylum seeker status; UNHCR recognized 67 percent of Iranian claimants as refugees in its parallel procedure.
[...]
The only durable solution for recognized Iraqi and Iranian refugees is resettlement to a third country. During the year, 2,747 refugees were resettled, including 2,203 Iranians, 477 Iraqis, and 67 others. The principal resettlement countries were the United States (896), Canada (636), Norway (606), and Sweden (200).
[...]
Between January 2000 and December 2001, about 850 Iranian refugees arrived in Turkey from the semi-autonomous Kurdish zone in northern Iraq. The Iranian refugees apparently moved from northern Iraq to Turkey to seek resettlement outside the region; they had no opportunity for resettlement from northern Iraq, nor any prospects for local integration or repatriation. Although the Turkish government generally has regarded this group as inadmissible for temporary asylum because it considers northern Iraq to be safe for them, UNHCR negotiated an agreement with the Turkish government that allowed the agency to review the claims of Iranians who arrived from northern Iraq in 2000 (about 550 persons). While UNHCR was working to find resettlement opportunities for the Iranian refugees who arrived before January 1, 2001, the agency and the government would not consider those who arrived after January 1 as eligible for resettlement (about 300 persons)."

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