Gay Turkish asylum seeker deported to Central African Republic despite protection order
Aylin, a 28-year-old gay woman from Turkey who fled after being threatened by a religious group and a family member, had been granted withholding of removal by a US judge because returning to Turkey would endanger her due to her sexuality. After spending 18 months in US immigration detention, she says she was handcuffed and shackled and put on a flight she only learned mid-flight was headed to the Central African Republic, a country she had never heard of. Unable to safely live as a gay woman in Bangui, where hostility toward LGBTQ people is widespread, she ultimately returned to Turkey, telling her family she had 'changed her sexual orientation' and saying she hopes to eventually reach Europe. CNN reported she is one of several deportees sent to third countries despite court protection orders; the AP found eight of nine deportees on one January flight had similar orders, and at least 35 third-country deportation deals have been signed by US immigration authorities.
