Saeed
Four years ago, Saeed and his brother, both Iranian nationals, arrived in Turkey with the intention of joining the rest of their family and claiming asylum. The journey was long and dangerous; it took them 15 hours to cross the border by horse and by foot, running or crawling past Iranian and Turkish watchtowers.
Despite the risks involved, Saeed would not approach the Turkish border guards for help due to the fear of being shot.
"It was very dangerous because we knew that we should hide from any Turkish soldiers [...] the soldiers would possibly have shot at us while crossing the border because we were doing so illegally... we knew that it was dangerous to go to claim asylum through he soldiers."
Saeed had known of many cases of people intercepted while crossing the border. One person was beaten by Turkish guards and dragged along the ground behind a horse, until they thought he was dead. Saeed's cousin was intercepted by Iranian soldiers and imprisoned and deprived of food and water for two days.
One of his friends was apprehended by the Turkish police, detained and taken to court, where he was told he would be expelled. Neither his family, friends, nor UNHCR were able to access him in detention and, without a translator to assist him, he was unable to claim asylum. He was eventually deported to Iran and his whereabouts remain unknown.
(Source: British Refugee Council)