Swiss Asylum Rejections & Rights Violations: The Case of Bahar Yalçınkaya Submitted to the UN by KURD-CHR Geneva

1. Background & Systemic Issue

• Organization: The Kurdish Center for Human Rights (KURD-CHR) in Geneva submitted an urgent report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT)[cite: 1].

• Core Problem: Swiss migration authorities (SEM) increasingly reject asylum applications from Turkish and Kurdish nationals by arguing that expected prison sentences in Türkiye for political offenses (social media posts, political expression) are relatively short[cite: 1].

• The Flaw: KURD-CHR highlights that focusing solely on potential sentence length ignores the concrete risks of immediate arrest, prolonged pre-trial detention, unfair trials, and ill-treatment in custody[cite: 1].

2. Case Study: Bahar Yalçınkaya

• Legal Warnings Ignored: Prior to her removal, her Swiss attorney explicitly warned authorities that she faced active criminal prosecutions in Türkiye for Kurdish political propaganda[cite: 1].

• Immediate Imprisonment: Upon deportation to Türkiye, she was immediately arrested and placed in pre-trial detention at Bakırköy Women’s Prison in Istanbul[cite: 1]. Her infant child, born in Switzerland on June 5, 2025, was incarcerated with her[cite: 1].

• Excessive Use of Force: Witnesses at the Ober Halden return center in Zurich reported that she was forcibly handcuffed behind her back in front of her weeping children during the arrest[cite: 1].

3. Supporting Evidence & Political Context

• SRF Media Investigation: An independent investigation by Swiss broadcaster SRF revealed that at least 12 rejected Turkish asylum seekers were arrested or imprisoned immediately after being deported from Switzerland[cite: 1].

• Ongoing Repression: Political dialogue in Türkiye has not ended ground-level persecution[cite: 1]. Kurdish political actors, elected mayors, and individuals engaging in cultural expression continue to face police violence and criminal prosecution[cite: 1].

4. Appeals to the UN Committee Against Torture

KURD-CHR respectfully requests the UN Committee to[cite: 1]:

1. Examine Switzerland’s compliance with Article 3 of the Convention Against Torture (the principle of non-refoulement)[cite: 1].

2. Mandate genuine, individualized risk assessments that properly account for political prosecution risks[cite: 1].

3. Uphold child rights & well-being during all deportation operations[cite: 1].

4. Recommend suspending removals when individuals face foreseeable risks of arbitrary detention or ill-treatment[cite: 1].

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