Warning: This article contains images and descriptions of violence that some readers may find distressing.
In mid‑January, a group of roughly 50 undocumented Afghan migrants were arrested in the eastern Turkish city of Van after people smugglers helped them cross into the country. According to witnesses, they were lined up, beaten and then handed over to border guards who dragged them toward the Iranian frontier, where temperatures dropped below ”-15°C”.
Afghan men and boys aged 25 or younger, including a 13‑year‑old, were subjected to hard labour. They were required to carry wood and pull through deep snow, with only water and dry bread offered once a day while being kept in a warehouse during a blizzard.
On 25 January, the migrants were again lined up by border guards and beaten with iron bars. They were stripped of their clothes and forced to crawl toward a hill. Several migrants were left with broken heads and bleeding; many were rendered unable to use their hands. After being released in groups of eight, they were pushed through barbed wire toward the Iranian border, where they did not have any path to safety.
At least 20 of the migrants reportedly died from hypothermia and frostbite. Eleven of the 12 migrants who spoke to the BBC told the BBC about the conditions they endured. One, 21‑year‑old Shahsawar, was taken to a hospital in Kabul, where both his legs and hands were amputated after their tissue turned black and painful.
The migrants said they received no medical attention when they crossed into Iran, and they had to wait in the — and in many cases, did not receive help. The group was later taken by the Red Crescent Society to Herat Province and then to Kabul for treatment. By the time they reached Kabul, the frostbite had worsened beyond healing.
According to Turkish authorities, the border guards followed national and international laws and provided food, water and medical care. The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the allegations were unfounded, claiming that the country operates a “human‑centred and sustainable migration‑management system” that balances security and freedom. However, migrants‑rights activists have long documented no‑treatments and push‑backs around the Iran‑Turkey border.
An image of Shahsawar and other migrants gathered on a red‑and‑blue striped rug in the untamed Afghan landscape illustrates the physical exhaustion and trauma endured. The photo also shows amputations in all the participants.
