Journalist Yiğit on the Verge of Deportation: “Its Shame Belongs to Germany”
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Journalist Adil Yiğit, who has been living in Germany for 35 years, went to the Hamburg Central Foreigners' Registration Office with his attorney three weeks ago. His intention was to extend his residence permit; but, the response that he received was "The reasons of his stay in the country have disappeared." However, the officer added that the problem in question would be resolved and Yiğit would not have any problems staying in Germany.
On October 26, 2018, Adil Yiğit received an official letter from the same office, demanding that Yiğit leave Germany until January 20, 2019 "on the grounds that the unity of the family had disappeared, he no longer lived with his children and he was without a job".
"An arbitrary and racist decision"
Speaking to bianet about the decision of the office and referring to it as an "arbitrary" one, Yiğit has stated that he has been living in Germany for 35 years and his four children and two grandchildren are citizens of Germany:
"The decision in question is both an arbitrary and racist one. Though the Greens and the left parties are in the lead in Hamburg, I am of the opinion that the officials are racist. If not, why would have they given such a decision? Have they just come to realize that the unity of the family has disappeared and I have got divorced from my ex-wife?"
He filed a lawsuit after his accreditation was cancelled
Yiğit, who did not realize his asylum to come to Turkey as a result of Gezi Resistance in 2013, has never used his passport of Turkey. He also never thought that he would have problems for that reason. However, when he was prevented from following the G20 Summit held in Hamburg on April 27, 2017 and his accreditation was cancelled, he took the incident to court.
After he filed a lawsuit along with eight other journalists from Germany regarding the cancellation of their accreditations, he has turned into "an undesirable journalist" in the country.
"Germany has been shaking its finger at me"
On September 28, 2018, Adil Yiğit attended the joint press conference, which was held by President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel in Berlin. At the conference, he was wearing a shirt "Freedom to journalists" written on it and was forced out of the conference hall by police officers.
Stating that Germany has been demanding the withdrawal of the lawsuit that he filed, Yiğit has also added, "With this decision of repatriation, Germany has been shaking its finger at me. I am a member of the Journalists' Union of Germany. I will not withdraw the lawsuit".
"I will go to another country"
To the question "Will you come to Turkey?", Yiğit has answered,
"We all know the oppression, which the journalists have been subjected to in Turkey. The road of journalists in Turkey has been passing through Silivri (Prison). There is no freedom of the press in Turkey. I will not come to Turkey, I will not stay in Germany. I will go to another country so that the shame of Germany will remain in Germany." (EMK/SD)
* Photograph: spiegel.de
Editor of bianet Women’s News (2018). Editor of bianet Women’s and LGBTI+ News from October 2018 to February 2025. She conducts workshops on gender-focused journalism and reporting on gender-based violence. She is among the founders of the Women and LGBTI+ Commission of the Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS). She is a board member of the TGS Istanbul Branch for the 2023–2027 term. She received the Musa Anter Journalism Award in 2011 and the Turkish Psychiatric Association’s Best News Award in 2024. She worked as a reporter for Cumhuriyet, BirGün, İMC TV, DİHA, Jinha, and Jin News, and also worked for local newspapers in Rize. Her news reports and articles have been published in Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo, and trade magazines. She is one of the founding writers of GOR, a Hemşin culture magazine. She contributed writings to the books Yeşilden Maviye Karadenizden Kadın Portreleri, Sırtında Sepeti, and Medya ve Yalanlar. She was a bianet intern in 2000. She graduated from the Department of International Relations at Istanbul Bilgi University.
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