Amnesty International has launched an urgent action campaign urging Turkish authorities to reinstate the temporary protection status of a Syrian refugee whose legal rights were stripped after he was diagnosed with HIV, leaving him unable to access vital medical care.
The campaign includes a petition addressed to Turkey’s Presidency of Migration Management on behalf of Ahmad Aabo, 29, who fled Syria as an unaccompanied minor in 2012 after facing threats from his family and armed groups over his perceived sexual orientation.
Amnesty said the refusal to restore his status violates Aabo’s right to healthcare and puts his life at risk. The rights group is urging Turkish authorities to “immediately intervene to ensure Aabo regains temporary protection status and access to essential medical treatment.”
Aabo was granted temporary protection in 2017. However, in 2023, shortly after being diagnosed with HIV, Aabo’s legal status was revoked following the assignment of a G-78 security code on the grounds that he carried a “communicable disease.”
Since 2014 Syrians seeking protection in Turkey are registered as asylum seekers under temporary protection, a status that gives them access to services including healthcare, education and social services and have the right to work under the Temporary Protection Regulations.
Article 12 of the regulations outlines the circumstances in which temporary protection may be removed, none of which includes the presence of a communicable disease.
In 2024 Aabo was detained for six months in İstanbul and Adana removal centers. He has reported being held in isolation and subjected to inhumane and degrading treatment, including verbal abuse and having food thrown at him through his cell door, mistreatment he believes was motivated by discrimination related to his HIV status and sexual orientation.
Although Turkish authorities lifted the G-78 security code and rescinded the deportation order in October 2024, Aabo’s temporary protection has not been reinstated. His most recent application was rejected in December 2024 on the grounds of posing a “threat to public order and security.” Appeals to suspend the decision were dismissed in January and June, and his substantive appeal remains pending before an İstanbul administrative court.
Without legal status, Aabo has been unable to access free antiretroviral medication or medical monitoring, placing his health at serious risk, Amnesty said. He was denied treatment for over three months while in detention but eventually managed to receive medication in July 2024 that brought his viral load under control.
