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On 19 January 2026, the Fifth Section of the European Court of Human Rights (the “Court”) published the communicated case of  K.A. v. Türkiye (Application no. 13754/25) and the case of  A.H. v. Türkiye (Application no. 20237/25). The case of K.A. concerns a Syrian national facing expulsion from Türkiye on national-security grounds, either to Ecuador as a designated safe third country or through ‘voluntary return’ to Syria. The applicant challenges the deportation order and the imposition of a security code, arguing that he faces a real risk of death or ill-treatment if removed and that the authorities failed to conduct an adequate safe third country assessment, particularly regarding the risk of chain refoulement to Syria.  

The applicant complains under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention that he would be subjected to death or inhumane and degrading treatment, if deported and that the domestic authorities failed to conduct an adequate “safe third country” assessment, particularly with regard to the risk of chain refoulement to Syria. 

The case of A.H. concerns a Syrian national under temporary protection in Türkiye who faces expulsion to Malaysia as a designated safe third country or ‘voluntary return’ to Syria following his release from prison after a conviction for membership of a terrorist organisation. The removal order was upheld by the administrative courts and the Constitutional Court dismissed the applicant’s individual application as manifestly ill-founded. 

The applicant complains under Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention that the domestic authorities failed to conduct an adequate “safe third country” assessment, particularly concerning the risk of chain refoulement to Syria. He further alleges a violation of Article 8 of the Convention on the basis that his removal to Malaysia, a country with which he has no established ties, would disproportionately interfere with his established family and private life in Türkiye.