Massive leak: 3.3M Syrian refugee passports leaked in Türkiye, reports say
Passport details of more than 3 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye leaked online, according to reports, July 5, 2024. (Photo obtained via Newsroom)
Recently, scans of passports belonging to over 3.3 million Syrian refugees residing in Türkye were exposed online, according to reports, coinciding with the recent incidents in Türkiye’s Kayseri, as well as accross the nation.
The leaked documents, initially shared by a Telegram account named “Türkiye Insurrection,” featured scans of the first and second pages of Syrian nationals’ passports, detailing their locations.
The anonymous administrator of the Telegram group declared plans to progressively disclose the passport scans, starting with broader releases and proceeding city by city. Alongside these actions, reports say that the channel advocated for violence against Syrian refugees within Türkiye.
Ministry of Interior acknowledged the breach involving Syrian nationals but indicated that the leaked file did not contain current information. According to the statement released by the ministry, “a 14-year-old was administering the channel and the Istanbul local children’s branch took action.”
The Ministry of Interior made the following statement on the subject:
“In the studies carried out by our Department of Combating Cyber Crimes; it was seen that a social media account with the pseudonym ‘Uprising#Türkiye’ posted the following today: ‘We will start a riot in Sultanbeyli (Istanbul) between 19.00-20.00’.
During the investigation, the administrator of the social media account was identified as 14-year-old E.P. It was also understood that the identity information of Syrians under Temporary Protection was shared from the same account.
Necessary action was taken against E.P. by the Istanbul Juvenile Branch Directorate.
We will catch those who want to create confusion in our country and those who want to use children in their provocations one by one and bring them to justice.
The investigation into the matter is being carried out on a large scale.”
The ministry promptly shut down the Telegram channel and its backup group, highlighting additional efforts by the channel to incite unrest.
What happened?
On the night of Sunday, June 30, a Syrian national allegedly harassed a Syrian girl in Kayseri’s Melikgazi district.
This was followed by incidents of vandalism targeting houses, workplaces and vehicles belonging to Syrians.
