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Twenty-one-year-old Shahsawar's legs and hands were yet amputated
ByMamoon Durrani
BBC Afghan Forensic
Warning: This nonfiction contains images and descriptions of unit that immoderate readers whitethorn find distressing.
A twelve young Afghans who tried to scope Europe successful January person told the BBC they were among a radical of 50 migrants beaten and stripped by Turkish borderline guards earlier being stranded successful the snow.
They accidental they were forced from the eastbound Turkish metropolis of Van towards the Iranian border, wherever temperatures were sub-zero. The radical added that astatine slightest 20 radical froze to death.
Eleven of the 12 men and boys who spoke to the BBC - including a 13-year-old - yet mislaid limbs to frostbite.
The group, each aged 25 oregon under, was yet returned to Afghanistan.
One of the migrants, Shahsawar, says helium regained consciousness successful a Kabul infirmary to observe some his hands and legs had been amputated.
"I raised my hands - they felt light. Both had been chopped off," helium tells the BBC. "My pharynx closed up and I couldn't speak."
When approached for comment, Turkish authorities did not specifically code the migrants' allegations.
But the overseas ministry said borderline forces followed nationalist and planetary laws and provided detained undocumented migrants with each indispensable assistance, including food, h2o and aesculapian care.
Image source, Anadolu via Getty Images
Temperatures had plummeted to -15C successful eastbound Turkey, wherever the Afghan boys and men accidental they were caught by borderline guards
In mid-January, astir 50 undocumented Afghan migrants were arrested aft radical smugglers helped them transverse the Iranian borderline into of Van, wherever temperatures had dropped to -15C.
Shahsawar, 21, says helium was detained instantly connected entering the city.
Turkish borderline guards past lined the migrants up and bushed them, helium says.
"They kept america for respective nights successful a warehouse, wherever snowfall was falling connected us. And they gave america lone h2o and adust breadstuff erstwhile a day."
"They forced america to bash hard labour," adds Alwaldin, 23. "We had to transportation wood and wide snow."
Alwaldin was neither capable to interaction his household nor the trafficker who had promised to instrumentality him to Europe.
Alawaldin, 23, says the migrants were stripped and forced to crawl connected their stomachs
The migrants who spoke to the BBC picture an exceptionally convulsive incidental connected 25 January erstwhile they accidental they were again lined up by borderline guards, but this clip beaten with robust bars.
Stripped of their apparel and with their hands tied, they were forced to crawl connected their stomachs toward a hill, Alawaldin says. "Some people's heads were breached and humor was flowing implicit their shoulders."
Some had been beaten truthful severely they could nary longer usage their hands, according to Shahsawar.
With their clothes, shoes and socks removed - near with lone a brace of trousers each - the Afghans were released successful groups of 8 and pushed done barbed ligament towards Iran, helium says.
It was a stormy night, with dense snowfall and astir nary visibility.
"The paths were covered successful snow. And we didn't cognize which absorption to spell oregon whether we would survive."
One subordinate of the group, a lad named Danial, got mislaid astir immediately. The migrants aboriginal learned his assemblage had been recovered successful the snow.
Meanwhile, exhausted and hungry, Shahsawar says helium had to instrumentality structure by a ample rock. He was soon joined by Asim, 13, and a chap migrant called Ahmed, whose hands were frozen stiff.
"In the morning, Asim moved on," Shahsawar says. "But we were truthful frozen that we couldn't adjacent speak.
"Ahmad was lying successful my arms. And aft a while, I noticed that helium had stopped breathing."
A video posted connected societal media the pursuing period seemingly shows Asim being recovered successful the snowfall by different migrants who had been searching for their companions. The teen is wet, frostbitten and poorly dressed.
When his rescuers inquire if helium is alone, Asim, seemingly excessively acold to speak, points with his manus to the stone wherever Shahsawar was sheltering. Shahsawar says this elemental motion saved his life.
But that was not the end. The migrants subsequently sought assistance successful Iran but accidental they were refused infirmary treatment.
Asim, 13, was recovered successful the snow, wet, poorly dressed and excessively acold to speak
On 29 January, the Afghan embassy successful Tehran said it had taken urgent steps to place and assistance a fig of Afghan migrants stranded connected the Iran-Turkey border.
Four days later, the boys and men were transferred by the Red Crescent Society overland to Herat Province, Afghanistan, and from determination to the capital, Kabul, for further aesculapian treatment.
At this point, the frostbite Shahsawar and 10 others had suffered was turning parts of their bodies black.
Shahsawar watched his hands and feet darken. His full assemblage started itching.
When they arrived astatine the Kabul hospital, his begetter and member signed a document, and helium was taken into an operating theatre, wherever some his legs and his hands were amputated.
Frostbite tin beryllium successfully treated if aesculapian attraction is provided rapidly - but for these boys and men, it was excessively late.
Most of Alawaldin's toes were amputated due to the fact that the radical could not get aesculapian attraction connected time
Şafak Bozkurt, who chairs the Van Bar Association Human Rights Centre Migration and Asylum Commission, said helium was acquainted with this benignant of push-back successful the region, and alert of cases of hypothermia.
Afghan migrants person reported aggregate akin incidents since 2021, erstwhile the Taliban seized powerfulness successful Kabul, according to Turkey-based activistic Zakira Hikmat. She said accrued borderline surveillance successful Turkey had forced them onto much unsafe routes.
Mahmout Keçen, different migrant-rights activistic based successful Van, said the quality of the mountains "most commonly utilized by Afghans entering Turkey irregularly" meant crossings had to beryllium made successful difficult, risky upwind conditions.
He has worked connected galore cases involving Afghans and different migrants who alleged "ill-treatment, push-backs, denial of entree to asylum procedures, and forced returns" astir the Iran-Turkey borderline region.
The Turkish overseas ministry told the BBC specified allegations were unfounded and "unfairly formed a shadiness connected Turkey's palmy efforts successful combating irregular migration".
"Due to its geopolitical determination connected migration routes and hosting a important migrant and exile population, Turkey aims to instrumentality a human-centred and sustainable migration-management strategy that is compatible with civilisational values, that balances information and freedom.
"Thanks to Turkey's effectual measures and palmy combat against irregular migration, irregular migration flows towards the European Union person been astir wholly halted."
The Iranian authorities person besides been approached for comment.
Ultimately, the migrants including 24-year-old Navid Ullah, pictured here, were taken to Kabul for aesculapian attraction
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