But Amnesty International said on Wednesday that Turkish authorities detained at least 27 Afghans in the northern city of Izmir this month and forced them to board a flight to Kabul on March 18 without allowing them to access any type of asylum procedure. Their alleged return to Afghanistan, which has seen a rise in conflict-related violence, would violate European and international law, Amnesty says, and is a clear abuse of refugee rights.

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“Returns to Turkey cannot proceed on the basis that Turkey is a safe country for refugees,” John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s director for Europe and Central Asia, said in a statement Wednesday.

The Turkish government confirmed to Amnesty that around 30 Afghans had returned this month but said they had done so voluntarily. In February, 125 Afghans agreed to return to Kabul from Germany on a special charter flight.

“The ink wasn’t even dry on the E.U.-Turkey deal when several dozen Afghans were forced back to a country where their lives could be in danger,” Dalhuisen said. “It’s like watching a train wreck in slow motion.”

Nearly 180,000 Afghans requested asylum in European countries last year, according to E.U. figures. And Afghans are now the second-largest group of asylum seekers in Europe after Syrians.

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But in December, Germany, which has accepted more than 1 million refugees and migrants, announced a blanket ban on Afghan asylum seekers. Authorities said most were fleeing poverty. Germany’s declaration may have signaled to Turkey that it could deport Afghans without any repercussions under the new agreement, an Afghan migration expert said. The expert spoke in the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.