Nanaxaanım Babazade, an Azerbaijani graduate student, was transferred to a repatriation center in Çatalca, İstanbul, after taking part in a student protest against rising meal prices at İstanbul University, the T24 news website reported on Friday.
According to her lawyer, Veli Günay, Babazade was detained on Thursday and transferred to the repatriation center on the pretext of an investigation into a “foreign terrorist organization,” despite only having participated in a peaceful demonstration.
“A simple protest has been portrayed as evidence of ties to a terrorist organization,“ Günay said. “There is an appeals process, and this will lead to a court case … but unfortunately, there is currently a deportation order in place.”
Günay said Babazade showed signs of physical assault and was subjected to a strip-search in the presence of male police officers.
Civil society groups and student organizations condemned the incident, noting that Babazade, a women’s rights and LGBT+ activist, has repeatedly faced threats from her family in Azerbaijan due to her views and would be at serious risk if deported.
The case has reignited an ongoing public debate on sexual harassment and strip-searches in detention facilities. Under Turkish law strip-searches are allowed only in exceptional cases, such as when there are credible indications that a person is carrying contraband.
However, human rights groups continue to denounce what they describe as an arbitrary and degrading practice, stressing that it constitutes a violation of human rights and amounts to ill-treatment.
