Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya visited Kayseri, where refugees’ homes and shops were attacked after Syrians abused a six-year-old child.
Yerlikaya met with Kayseri Governor here and issued a statement on the ensuing events.
“Joint Identification Information Data before September 8, 2022”
Pointing out the date when Süleyman Soylu took up his post as minister regarding the case in question, Yerlikaya said: “According to our initial decision, we have determined that the identity information shared is data prior to September 8, 2022. The current data of the Directorate General for Migration does not include administrators after this date. “Furthermore, our Directorate General for Migration Management has filed a criminal complaint with the Prosecutor General’s Office,” he said.
Yerlikaya said:
“I greet all members of the press with love and respect. We have just held the ‘Peace in Turkey – Kayseri’ conference. We assessed last year’s data on terrorism, security, illegal immigration, organized crime syndicates, drugs, crime and criminals in our city.
As you know; on June 30th, ugly events took place in Kayseri. There were protests in Kayseri. After these events, 855 people were detained. 13 of them were arrested and judicial control orders were issued against 145 of them. We inform you that 468 of the people detained in Kayseri have criminal records for 50 different crimes. These crimes include crimes such as smuggling of migrants, intentional injury, robbery, theft, sexual abuse, intimidation, insults, drugs, property damage, fraud, blackmail, etc.
A total of 1,065 people were detained across Turkiye due to similar incidents. Of these, 28 were arrested. Judiciary control decisions were issued against 187 of them. There is a process of provocation regarding immigration issues, especially on social media. Manipulative, negative and unrealistic posts are shared by BOT accounts.
As a result of the work carried out by the Cybercrime Prevention Department in collaboration with the Security Department, a total of 189 account managers (6 of whom live abroad) who are believed to have shared provocative and disinformation content regarding the incident were identified in Kayseri. 108 people were caught, of whom 12 were arrested (6 in custody are pending proceedings, 38 are under judicial control, and 52 have been released).
Dear friends, Kayseri. It is a land of generous people like Mount Erciyes. Kayserians are traders. They are the best representatives of the ancient merchant tradition. They are hospitable. My compatriots from Kayseri are committed to their homeland, their flag, their state, their nation and their spiritual values.
As the President has repeatedly stated, we manage the immigration issue in accordance with our beliefs, civilized values and international law. We will never tolerate xenophobia and hate speech that are not on our national record. Last night we saw people trying to cause social unrest by spreading xenophobia and hate speech. Some social media accounts used children to post covert messages such as “They are starting to riot” from the same account. We also saw that the identities of Syrians “under temporary protection” were made public. Our experts investigated the data shared on social media until this morning.
According to our initial findings, the shared ID information is data from before September 8, 2022. We have determined that this information does not include any updated data created by the Immigration Bureau after this date. We have assigned a civil inspector to this matter. Additionally, the Immigration Bureau is filing criminal charges with the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Dear friends, in line with our national interests, we have always fought and will continue to fight illegal immigration in accordance with human rights, law and civilized values, without compromising public order and security.
Currently, there are 96,610 regular migrants in Kayseri. Of these, 83,142 are Syrians under temporary protection, 6,72 with residence permits, and 7,396 Syrians under international protection. From June 1, 2023 to July 1, 2024, 28 operations against migrant smuggling organizers were carried out in the province. As a result of these operations, 35 migrant smuggling organizers were arrested (3 arrests, 2 judicial checks).
During the same period, 1,918 illegal immigrants were intercepted. 3,613 illegal immigrants were deported from Kayseri GGM, and the deportation process for the remaining immigrants is ongoing. In addition, one Mobile Migration Point vehicle is operating in the city to combat irregular migration.
Dear citizens, let us not resort to provocations. Let us not abandon moderation. Let us not harm people, the environment and property through illegal means. Our state is strong. Our security forces continue to fight against all crimes and criminals today, as they did yesterday. Turkey’s Supreme Judiciary will give criminals the punishment they deserve.
As our respected President stated,
“We will not fall into such insidious traps.
We will not succumb to racist vandalism.
As if to cut through the hand reaching out to the flag,
We know how to break the hands that reach out to the oppressed.”
We will continue to fight in the strongest possible way against illegal immigrants, organisers of smuggling, criminals, criminals and provocateurs. I greet you with love and respect.
what happened?
Following news of the abuse of a six-year-old child by Syrian refugees in Kayseri, the city was thrown into chaos, with Syrian homes, shops and vehicles being burned.
The child and his family were placed under state protection but he was arrested, and 855 people were detained in connection with the case.
