Court in Germany lifts deportation order against two political asylum seekers from Turkey

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Sentenced to 6 years and 3 months in prison because of the demonstrations they attended while they were students, academic Sinem Mut and her fiance Anıl Kaya had their asylum applications rejected by a court in Germany, which had said they were "too politically engaged."

Mut and Kaya, whose application regarding this verdict was rejected in December 2021, made an application again in January 2022 through Lawyer Roland Meister and demanded the stay of the deportation order. The court accepted their demand on March 22, 2022, and delivered a notification to them at the beginning of this month.

Although they have not yet obtained the right of residence, this decision is very important and they expect positive results from the ongoing legal struggle for the right of residence, Mut and Kaya said in a statement.

"We demand the repatriation of Kurds, Alevis, rights defenders and those who had to leave their country who were subjected to political oppression of Turkey and sentenced to dozens of years in prison be stopped and their asylum applications be accepted," they stated.

Sentences for Women's Day and Roboski commemoration

Bianet reported on the deportation order on August 10, 2021. In the report, the legal processes in Turkey and Germany were explained as follows:

"Mut and Kaya were members of the Democratic Rights Association when they were university students. In 2012, lawsuits were filed against them for "being a member of an illegal organization" because of the demonstrations they attended, including May Day, Women's Day and Roboski Massacre commemoration events. They were both given prison sentences in 2019 and an appeals court upheld the sentences. The case is currently at the Court of Cassation.

"When the case was concluded, Mut was an academic at Ankara University and Kaya was a graduate student at Selçuk University and working for a private company.

"Ten people who were given the same sentences for the same reasons, including Mut and Kaya, went abroad together.

"Mut, Kaya and five others applied for asylum in Germany and three others applied for asylum in Switzerland. They submitted the same documents regarding their trials.

"Apart from Mut and Kaya, who had made their applications in Bavaria, all others' applications were approved and they were granted residence permits."

The book of a revolutionary

Sinem Mut had told bianet about what they had gone through:

"We applied to the Office of Migrants and Refugees (Bundesamt für Migration und Flüchtlinge / BAMF) in Germany. On May 15, 2020, they rejected our application, saying that 'the documents are not realistic.' However, the applications of the other eight people with the same documents were approved. We took this decision to the court, the administrative court determined that a hearing would be held one year later.

"They were convinced that the documents were real after we showed the original documents from the e-government system at the hearing. Then a separate 'trial' process started. The court asked us whether we had attended the demonstrations mentioned in the file. We said, 'Of course, we attended.'

"The court had also examined the indictment of the trial in Turkey. It asked me whether İbrahim Kaypakkaya's [a revolutionary leader in the 1970s] Selected Articles book was found during the search in my home. I said that it was a labeled book in Turkey and it was not banned and that I am a political person and had both this book and many other books at home.

"In the examination of the asylum application, we stood trial again, as we did in the court in Turkey.

"After we were asked questions as to whether we were political people or not, the court ruled for the rejection, stating that 'they are highly politically engaged'."

The deportation orders for Mut and Kaya have been lifted as a result of their appeals.

Continuing education

Sinem Mut graduated from Hacettepe University Department of Healthcare Management in 2013. Completed her doctorate in Ankara University Department of Healthcare Management. She started to work at Ankara University in 2014 when she was appointed as a research assistant.

In September and December 2018, she took classes as a guest student at Hochschule Neu-Ulm as part of the Erasmus Program, with the approval of Ankara University.

Anıl Kaya graduated from Hacettepe University Department of Art History in 2015. He was a graduate student at Selçuk University Department of Art History. He was also working at a company's department of administrative affairs.

After going to Germany, both Mut and Kaya started an integration course with the decision of BAMF and received B2-level German language certificates.

Currently, Kaya continued studying German at Hochschule Augsburg and Mut continues the Weiterbildung programme at Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt. (AS/VK)