London, November 28 (RHC)-- Amnesty International has slammed Turkey for expelling dozens of Syrian refugees to their war-stricken country, saying the move is in violation of international law.

According to a new report released by the UK-based rights group, a total of about 80 Syrian asylum seekers, who were previously held incommunicado in a detention center in the Turkish city of Erzurum, were forced to leave for their country, with 50 more people facing deportation. They were all arrested in September for holding a peaceful demonstration against being banned from entering Greece.

The report noted that forced deportation is against international law, which forbids countries from returning asylum seekers to conflict zones where their lives are in danger, known as the non-refoulement principle, a principle of international law that forbids the rendering of a true victim of persecution to his or her persecutor.

“These deportations violate Turkey’s domestic law as well as its international legal obligations,” it concluded.