“I will be arrested if they send me back,” Turkish asylum seeker calls out to German authorities

“I will be arrested if they send me back,” Turkish asylum seeker calls out to German authorities

German Police raided the house of a Turkish national who sought asylum in Germany fleeing Erdogan regime’s crackdown on Hizmet movement, following a court ruling for his deportation back to Turkey, a country where he can face arrest or worse.

Rahman Gün, the Turkish asylum seeker who face deportation, worked in Turkey’s largest petrochemical company PETKIM. He and his family came to Germany in March 2018 and demanded asylum. However, German authorities decided to deport them back to Turkey.

Gün, who started work from the moment he came to Germany not receiving any benefit from public offices, found a job in Africa not to be deported back to Turkey.

However, Gün’s papers are not given back to him.

“I am definitely going be arrested if I am deported,” said Gün.

Merseburg Police in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany raided the residence of Rahman Gün and his family in the morning of November 15 with 8 police officers. The police came to deport Rahman Gün, his wife Ayşe Hilal Gün and his two children back to Turkey.

Rahman Gün, an electrician, had to seek asylum in Germany due to his predicament in Turkey over his ties to the Hizmet Movement. His spouse Ayşe Hilal Gün was a kindergarten teacher and she worked in the schools affiliated with the Hizmet Movement.

Ayşe Hilal Gün, who was already being treated for panic attacks, had an attack during the police raid. Her family members allege that she was beaten by the police.

Gün was taken to a hospital by an ambulance. Doctors decided to keep her in hospital for a while. She is still being treated in the hospital.

Gün is baffled by the police raiding his house to deport him back to Turkey despite the fact that he had permission to stay in Germany until the 10th of December. Gün also has stated that he would go to Africa voluntarily because he found a job there, which makes sending him back to Turkey all the more pointless.

Gün describes what happened as follows:

“I was working for PETKIM in Turkey. Nearly 15 colleagues of mine associated with the Hizmet Movement were arrested. At work, my relationship with the Hizmet Movement was well-known so I was under intense pressure. I was having temper tantrums because I couldn’t talk to anyone.”

“My wife was staying at home alone because I worked on the night shift. My wife started to have panic attacks due to waiting in constant stress because the cops always came at night. She began to receive treatment and take medication on a regular basis.”

“The first hearing of my friends who were arrested was in January 2018. I realized that I would be next when I found out that some questions were asked about me at the hearing. I took my wife and children and hastily fled Turkey and came to Germany. I would have gone to Canada because I could easily find a job suitable for my professional skills there, however, I did not have the time to wait for a visa because I could be detained any time by then. After coming to Germany in March 2018, I found a job to make a living.”

In August, BAMF (Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) refused our asylum request. I objected to the ruling and the court overruled the objection a week later. Then we appealed to a higher court. On October 17, the appeal was rejected as well. That was the final decision which meant that I would be deported back to Turkey.

I was told that I had to find Ausbildung (a vocational training course) to solve my problem but I could not manage to enroll in any training program because I lacked sufficient language skills for the programs. They finally gave us a deadline to leave Germany until December the 10th.

However, they suddenly came with 8 policemen and said: ‘We will send you back to Turkey,’ even though I still had time.

“They hit my wife’s head against the ground” 

“When the cops came, my wife got sick as she has been having panic attacks.”

“The cops tore us apart. My wife fell. She was trying to get to the kids, but the cops wouldn’t let her. Meanwhile, when she suddenly screamed, I went there next to them. The cops assaulted her on the ground. Her head hit the ground.”

“Then I called an ambulance. She was taken to a rehabilitation facility. There, the doctors decided to hospitalize her. She is still in the hospital.”

“I will be arrested if I go to Turkey”

“If they send me back to Turkey, I will be arrested. My file shows that my phone call records have just been issued. I found a job in Africa to avoid going to Turkey and getting arrested. But my passport and all my documents are in the hands of German authorities. So I cannot go there[to Africa] either. ”

“I have submitted all the documents showing that I found a job in Africa, including my work agreement. I have permission to stay in Germany until December 10. They could at least give me the right to go to the country where I found a job. I don’t understand how they deport me even though it is certain that I am going to be arrested there.”