Nanaxanim Babazade (Nana), an Azerbaijani women’s rights activist and master’s student at Istanbul University’s Department of Anthropology, was detained on 21 August from her workplace in Kadıköy on the grounds that she had “taken part in a protest against the price hikes at the university canteen.” She is now being held at the Çatalca İnceğiz Removal Centre pending deportation.
Anti-refugee and anti-migrant measures in Turkey have turned into a routine “xenophobia procedure.” Removal Centres (GGMs) were established in 2014 under the Ministry of Interior. Currently, there are 32 GGMs across the country. Barriers to accessing healthcare, hygiene and information, exposure to physical and psychological violence, and more recently reported suicides have reignited debate on the living conditions of refugees and migrants under administrative detention.
On 8 August 2025, Afghan refugee woman K.H. took her own life at the Çatalca İnceğiz GGM. It was claimed that two other refugees also attempted suicide. While the Presidency of Migration Management confirmed the Afghan woman’s suicide, it has not made any statement about the other two.
University student Nanaxanim Babazade is being held in the same GGM as the Afghan woman who died by suicide.
Babazade was transferred to Çatalca İnceğiz GGM after being declared by authorities a “person posing a threat to public security.” She has been kept “under administrative custody” for four weeks. Yet, because she is a foreign national, no criminal investigation or lawsuit has been launched against her.
“She cannot return to Azerbaijan”
Babazade holds a student residence permit in Turkey. She works on women’s rights and animal rights. Her lawyer, Ahmet Baran Çelik, links her placement under deportation proceedings and administrative custody to the fact that she is “a political and activist figure”: “Babazade is a person engaged in struggle. She fights for women’s rights, animal rights. She is known to the police. Prior to her detention she received a phone call from the Migration Directorate. The time was approaching for her to apply to extend her residence permit. When she was called in, she was met not by an administrative officer but by people from the intelligence services and police. She was offered to work as an informant. She refused. She was threatened with deportation. Two weeks later she was detained.”
Babazade came to Turkey to escape family pressure. Her family lives in Azerbaijan. Her lawyer explains that she does not want to return due to family pressure: “She comes from a strict, conservative family. Her father was violent towards her and her mother. They did not allow her education. They wanted her to wear the hijab. They tried to force her into marriage. That is why she left home. She came to Turkey to escape this oppression and violence. We know that her life is in danger. In light of these risks, even if the case is lost, she cannot go back to Azerbaijan – she would have to go to a third country.”
Forced strip searches, hunger as punishment
Psychological and physical violence begins in the detention van: “There were other migrants in the van. Because Nana is fluent in Turkish, the police treated her more cautiously at first. But several women who did not know Turkish were beaten so severely that an ambulance had to be called. When Nana intervened instead of remaining silent, she was subjected to the same violence. All of this is recorded in medical reports. Afterwards, at both Arnavutköy and Çatalca İnceğiz GGMs, she resisted forced strip searches and was again physically assaulted.”
After being taken into custody at the Vatan Police Headquarters, Babazade was first brought to the Arnavutköy Removal Centre. For two days, she “was pressured to become an informant”; as she kept refusing, a deportation order was issued at the end of the second day. Her lawyer Çelik states that Babazade was deprived of food for 24 hours, confined to a room with just one chair and a gendarme standing guard, and held there for nearly 12 hours while being repeatedly told: “Either you accept the offer to become an informant or agree to voluntary return.”
Çelik describes what followed: “When she refused to become an informant, they tried to force her to sign papers consenting to a voluntary return. At one point, to get rid of the pressure, she said she would sign, but then changed her mind. We managed to see her around that time. Because she was under such immense pressure, she said something along the lines of ‘I could accept return, maybe to a third country,’ but she retracted it.”
From Thursday evening, the day she was first detained, until Monday, her vegan diet request was ignored. For the first three days she was denied her medication. According to her lawyer, on the following Monday and Tuesday she was given vegan meals once each day.
Çelik says conditions at the GGM are no different from a prison, noting that during Babazade’s stay there, two suicide incidents took place: “Most of the people there have no ties, no lawyer, no connections to look out for them. That’s why they face the worst possible conditions. The system in GGMs is organized like a dormitory-style wards. The only difference from prison is that courtyard access is not restricted.”
The deportation procedure
A lawsuit has been filed with the administrative court against the deportation order concerning Babazade. Unless she agrees to voluntary return, she cannot be deported until the court decision becomes final. Babazade’s administrative detention order continues. Her lawyer Çelik says they appealed this decision too, but their request for appeal was rejected. However, the administrative authority is obliged to review the decision every month.
Harsh treatment of migrants and refugees
In some cases, deportation threats are pursued in breach of the principle of “individual criminal responsibility.” Lawyer Çelik notes that they often encounter similar files: “When the legal process drags on, people are forced to sign a so-called voluntary return form. If they refuse, the authorities detain the entire family. This time it is the whole family that is threatened with deportation.”
Another recent case that brought “xenophobia” policies to the forefront was the deportation of Syrian journalist Taha Elgazi, who had been a Turkish citizen since 2014, together with his wife. First his citizenship and then his residence permit were revoked. He was detained from his home in Istanbul, followed shortly afterwards by his wife. At the Removal Centre, they signed so-called “voluntary return” papers and were sent back to Syria.
While xenophobia and anti-refugee/migrant measures continue, these rights violations fail to get sufficient attention. Lawyer Çelik stresses that violence against migrants and refugees has become normalised: “Nana was political, she had friends and lawyers. Her case drew attention, people stood by her. But many migrants are subjected to much harsher treatment. Most of them face a language barrier. They cannot speak Turkish. They have no family, no support network in Turkey. They are all alone.” Although protests have been held in support of Nana Babazade, the situation in the removal centres remains unchanged and continues to constitute a human rights violation.
(Translation: Burcu Becermen, published 19.07.2025 at Agos)
