Turkey detains Uyghur woman with valid residence permit, sparking deportation fears

Istanbul, October 1 — Turkish police on Tuesday (September 29) detained Akide İsmail, a 33-year-old Uyghur woman, at her home in Istanbul's Sefaköy neighborhood and transported her to a removal center, according to the Stockholm Center for Freedom, reporting the Uygur Haber news website. Her family said police gave no reason for the detention, and they fear she could be deported to China, where Uyghurs face serious human rights abuses. İsmail holds a valid residence permit; born in Aksu in China's East Turkistan region, she works as a Quran teacher and is the primary provider for her two children — one with a kidney condition — and two younger brothers. Rights groups warn that deporting Uyghurs to China would violate the principle of non-refoulement; an estimated 50,000 Uyghurs live in Turkey, and the 2017 Turkey-China extradition treaty has still not been ratified by the Turkish parliament.

Source: Stockholm Center for Freedom (reporting Uygur Haber), around October 1, 2026. https://stockholmcf.org/turkey-detains-uyghur-woman-with-valid-residence-permit-sparking-fears-of-deportation-to-china/