‘Service-stamped passport’ investigation against 30 people in Germany

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

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The investigations into the allegations of human smuggling from Turkey with service-stamped passports have been extended in Germany.

It has been reported that 30 people have been under investigation over such allegations in Germany since January 2021.

As reported by Elmas Topçu from Deutsche Welle (DW) Türkçe, a federal police department responsible for Waidhaus, the border gate of Germany's federal state of Bavaria to Czechia, launched an inquiry over a suspicion about the service-stamped passports in late 2020 and informed the competent chief public prosecutor's office about the issue.

In January 2021, the chief public prosecutor's office of the "Weiden in Oberpfalz" city officially launched an investigation into the issue.

213 people in October-November

Weiden in Oberpfalz Chief Public Prosecutor Gerd Schäfer has spoken to DW Türkçe and said that the investigation carried out since the end of 2020 covers only 30 suspects for now, adding that the office examined only the suspicions about the passages from Czechia to Bavaria in October-November 2020 on the grounds of the federal system in Germany.

Accordingly, 30 suspects are reportedly under investigation in the city for allegedly having brought or attempted to bring at least 213 people to Germany with service-stamped passports, known as grey passports in Turkey, in the period of October-November 2020.

Cooperation with Turkey

The prosecutor has also noted that the legal situation concerning human smuggling is normally clearer as the entry of a person or persons to a country by illegal means without a visa is considered as such. He has underlined that the legal aspect of the issue is more complicated here since the related persons entered Germany with official service passports.

Indicating that the investigation is now at a very early stage, Schäfer has said that the office has not yet cooperated with the authorities in Turkey, adding that it will probably be necessary as the investigation proceeds.

He has emphasized that especially the ways in which the service-stamped passports were given will be decisive for the offense charged and in order to find out how the passports were issued, it will be necessary to receive information from Turkey regarding the issue.

Soylu: 804 people have not returned

As reported by the state-run Anadolu Agency (AA), Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu made a statement about the issue on April 28 and said that after the authority to issue passports was granted to the Civil Registry Office 2018, 109 thousand people in total left Turkey in total.

The number of those who went abroad in groups via municipalities - as part of organizations - was 2 thousand 872, according to Soylu, who noted that 804 people did not come back to Turkey afterwards.

Announcing that requests of 4 thousand 496 people for service-stamped passports were rejected by governor's offices in the last 6-7 months, Soylu said that 13 inspectors are currently investigating the allegations in 27 municipalities in 19 provinces of Turkey. (EKN/SD)