Cameroonian man claims he was stripped naked, bound like luggage on Turkish Airlines

Cameroonian man claims he was stripped naked, bound like luggage on Turkish Airlines

What should have been a nice trip for Emmanuel Chedjou turned into a nightmare after he was bound in plastic film and forced onto a Turkish Airlines plane.

The Cameroonian man revealed how Turkish authorities treated him inhumanely and intended to transport him like luggage.

In a video that has since gone viral, he is seen being bundled onto an airplane his body bound with plastic film.

The ordeal allegedly began when Chedjou arrived in Turkey with his wife on January 21.

Emmanuel Chedjou took a selfie at the Istanbul Airport shortly before he was arrested. PHOTO | COURTESY
Emmanuel Chedjou took a selfie at the Istanbul Airport shortly before he was arrested. PHOTO | COURTESY

Immigration officers informed him that his 30-day visa was invalid and it did not comply with set regulations.

Chedjou said he tried to explain to them that he had used a travel agency that had organized everything for them including visas.

They apparently would not listen: he was then reportedly thrown into a cell and his valuables confiscated.

Speaking to France 24, Chedjou also alleged that he had been denied food and water for about two days.

His plea to be handed over to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees allegedly also fell on deaf ears.

Further, the Cameroonian man claimed that he was forced to sign documents that he could not read as the writing was in Turkish.

It is further alleged that the man was stripped naked and his body wrapped like airport luggage.

https://twitter.com/abelamundala/status/1229288299216461824?s=20

The video shows Turkish authorities also placing a sheet over the Cameroonian man so as not to attract the attention of other passengers.

The man however managed to free himself from the sheet and began screaming for help which saw other passengers rush to where he was.

Because of the fracas that he caused, the Turkish authorities removed the plastic film from his body.

An unidentified woman is said to have helped Chedjou board another plan to Nigeria from where he booked a bus back to Cameroon.

Turkey’s Directorate General of Migration Management later claimed that Chedjou had torn his clothes on the plane forcing the authorities to cover him in tape.

“The passenger in question tried to enter Turkey with a false document on January 21. He was denied entry. There were three attempts to deport the foreign citizen on January 21, 22 and 27,” the statement reads.

It further states: “They were unsuccessful because he resisted and, on the last occasion, because he tore his clothes in the airplane. He was finally deported on January 30 during a fourth attempt.”

However, Piril Erçoban, from Mütleci-der, a Turkish organisation that defends refugee rights, told France 24 that the images from Chedjou’s deportation were “revolting”.

“It doesn’t matter what the person’s legal status is; this practice is unacceptable. That can’t be legal. The authorities need to take administrative and legal action against those responsible and should no longer tolerate these practices in border or transit zones,” he said.

France 24 reports that Africans at the detention facility are treated differently.

One woman they spoke to said: “The food they gave us was basically inedible and they hit us regularly. They confiscated phones from black detainees, but not from the white people. They also put us black people in a separate room.”

Chedjou has since threatened to sue Turkish Airlines for loss of money and damage to his reputation.

Tags:

Cameroonian Someon Chedjou Turkish Airlines

Want to send us a story? Submit on Wananchi Reporting on the Citizen Digital App or Send an email to wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke or Send an SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp on 0743570000

Leave a Comment

Comments

No comments yet.

latest stories