Asylum seekers with ties to the opposition from last month’s failed coup attempt in Turkey will not be sent back to the nation by Sweden until further notice, the Swedish Migration Agency (Migrationsverket) has decided.
The decision covers “people with credible connection to the attempted coup on July 15th” in Turkey, where an attempted military takeover was foiled after President Recap Tayyip Erdogan rallied supporters to quash the move.
The group considered by the Migration Agency to be at potential risk includes supporters of Turkish opposition leader Fethullah Gülen, whom Ankara has named as responsible for the coup attempt against Erdogan.
People who have taken part in “credible political opposition” are also part of the risk group, the Migration Agency writes on its website. The decision was taken on July 18th and is valid until further notice.
The migration authority also says that decisions on granting asylum to members of the concerned groups may be temporarily delayed because the agency believes further information on the “political and safety situation in Turkey” is needed.
The Swedish Migration Agency also advised that the situation in Turkey does not hinder tourist transfers via Istanbul or other Turkish airports.
In my research, I have been on the inside living with his followers while teaching English at one of the schools. Religion is not taught. It is not in the curriculum. The idea that these are jihadist madrases, or that Gülenists are extremists or terrorists is beyond absurd as anyone who knows them will attest.
33rd Abant Platform: whither Turkey?
In his speech at the opening of the first session, Prof. Seyfettin Yuksel said: “If it had been said a few years ago that we would be discussing ‘Turkey’s direction’ in the coming years, none of us would have believed it. We were sure about Turkey’s direction.” Unfortunately, nowadays Turkey’s direction is seen as uncertain, and the country has strayed not only from its foreign policy but also from democratic norms and the rule of law in its domestic policies. Here are my notes from the conference.
Turbulent times [in Turkey due to corruption probe]
The arrest of several people close to the government, including three ministers’ sons, accused of taking significant bribes, has shaken the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to the core and plunged Turkey into political uncertainty. Whether it is the case or not — the Gülen movement denies it — the timing of the arrests has created the widespread perception that the investigation is linked to the growing tension between the AKP and the Gülen movement, also known as Hizmet.
Fethullah Gulen’s interview with The Wall Street Journal
A broad spectrum of Turkish people, including Hizmet participants, supported AKP for democratizing reforms, for ending the military tutelage over politics and for moving Turkey forward in the EU accession process. We have always supported what we believed to be right and in line with democratic principles. But we have also criticized what we saw as wrong and contrary to those principles.
Thousands in anti-corruption protests; Erdoğan defiant
Thousands took to the streets of İstanbul on Sunday to protest against the government over a corruption scandal that has led to multiple arrests, including sons of two ministers and general manager of the state-run Halkbank.
Twenty-four people, including the sons of two ministers and the head of state-owned Halkbank, have been formally charged in connection with the corruption inquiry that Erdoğan has called a “dirty operation” to undermine his rule.
Prep school transformation plan violates Constitution, experts say
DERVİŞ GENÇ, İSTANBUL A government plan to shut down Turkey’s prep schools — or “transform” them, as the government argues — violates the Turkish Constitution and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), according to experts. “Parliament can neither close the prep schools with a law nor force them to transform. […]
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