Nanaxanım (Nana) Babazade, a graduate student at Istanbul University, was targeted because of her political identity and visibility in social struggles. Lawyer Baran Çelik, who provided information to ANF, said: “Nana was a graduate student at Istanbul University. She was a well-known figure involved in the HDK (Peoples’ Democratic Congress) Youth Councils, vegan groups, and feminist struggles, all of which have a political identity. Her visa was about to expire when she was summoned to the Immigration Office. Although she was told that her documents were incomplete, the police there offered her to work as an agent, asking her to “provide information and cooperate.” After rejecting the offer, she was detained in August on a “pretext” and transferred to the Repatriation Center (GGM). At the GGM, she was again offered to become an agent, but Nana refused this as well. On August 23, a decision was made to deport her and place her under administrative supervision.
Nana’s case was dismissed in just 45 days
Lawyer Baran Çelik pointed out that the deportation decision was finalized quickly, outside the normal process, and continued: “We immediately filed a lawsuit before the administrative court to overturn the deportation decision. While such cases usually take about a year, Nana’s case was dismissed in just 45 days. The fact that the court decision was issued so quickly and that the deportation process was initiated immediately clearly constitutes a violation of the law. The fact that this case was brought forward while other previous cases were still pending raises suspicions of ‘interference’. It clearly raises the question whether a special procedure was applied to Nana. Furthermore, it is extremely troubling that the deportation decision was finalized so quickly, even though the deadline for filing a second lawsuit regarding the restriction order (60 days) had not yet expired.”
Her hands, feet and eyes were bound, and her mouth gagged
The lawyer emphasized that his client’s deportation to Azerbaijan violated both the law and human rights, stating: “Nana declared that if she returned to Azerbaijan, she would be under threat from her family, her life would be in danger, and she could be subjected to torture. Despite these serious concerns and the obligation of states to consider the person’s will and safety when evaluating the option of a third country, she was directly deported to Azerbaijan. This situation is also unlawful. Nana told us that she was subjected to torture during the deportation process. According to our client’s account, she was not allowed to take her shoes, while her hands, feet, and eyes were bound, her mouth was gagged with a cloth to prevent her from speaking, and she was then put in a car and deported. The justification for this method being used on a student must be questioned. We will file a complaint about this inhumane treatment and follow up on this process.”