Turkey 'acting illegally' over Syria refugees deportations

Stray dogs prowled around the entrance. The fence was topped with barbed wire. It was an icy cold morning.
"We're here to visit one of your inmates," we said. The guards took our names - but not our professions. Journalists are not allowed inside detention centres, so we went undercover.
Soon, Ahmad appeared at the gate. "Nice to see you again," he said. "You've lost weight."
We first met Ahmad in September on the Turkey-Greece border in the town of Edirne.
He was among 2,000 Syrians who had camped out at the local stadium there, trying to travel legally across the land border into Greece, rather than risking their lives in overcrowded rubber boats.
After a few days, they were cleared away by police. But not all obeyed. About 120 vowed to stay put.
'I would rather die'
Deemed "troublesome", they were rounded up by police and taken off by bus. We followed as they arrived at the local detention camp.
The policemen refused to tell us their final destination. Through the railings, dozens of inmates already there shouted from their windows, one gesturing that his arm had been broken.

"And what of the others?" I asked.
"They were sent back to Syria," he replied.
Under the "non-refoulement" principle of international humanitarian law, a state is prohibited from deporting individuals to a war zone.
We decided to visit Ahmad in Tekirdag to hear more of the allegations that Turkey is acting illegally.
"I was beaten badly in Edirne," he said. "They hit me."
He passed us a photograph, which shows heavy bruising on his leg. It was caused, he said, by mistreatment at the hands of the guards.

After Edirne, he was taken to three other camps - in Aydin, Erzurum and now Tekirdag - with no prospect of a trial.
"I'm sitting here without charges - and I don't know how long I'll be here," he continued.
"Did the others want to go back to Syria?" I asked.
"No. I'm absolutely sure that most of them were running from Syria."
What would he do if they tried to send him back?
"I would rather die".
'Forced us to sign papers'
Two other members of the group arrested in Edirne also made contact.
One, from the Islamic State (IS) stronghold of Raqqa, messaged with the words: "We are out of prison today. They sent us to Syria.
"Bye my friend. Don't write to me until I do please," he wrote, clearly fearful of retribution by IS.