Turkey ... a "hysterical" migration to escape repression policy

Hundreds of asylum-seekers who hold Turkish citizenship have arrived on a Greek island since the beginning of this August, fleeing "repression," as some of them described to other Greek and European media outlets.

A prominent employee working for "Amnesty International" said that "we have pictures, videos and tangible documents confirming that Turkish citizens left their country with the aim of seeking asylum in European countries."

He added, "We are in the process of issuing a comprehensive file on them after conducting extensive field research."

According to the Human Rights Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament, the number of Turkish asylum seekers in Europe increased hysterically after the failed coup attempt against the rule of current President Erdogan in mid-July of 2016.

A French lawyer (of Turkish origin) who cooperates with human rights organizations to help those coming from Turkey said, "Paris does not accept all asylum applications submitted by the Turks and only agrees to grant asylum to anyone who confirms that he will face a potential risk to his life if he returns to his country."

She noted, "In many cases, the Asylum Service changes its decision and approves the granting of asylum to a Turk who had previously rejected his application," and added, "But nevertheless, there are thousands of Turks who live without papers in France after their requests are rejected again despite the appeals. We are presenting it in defense of our clients. "

During the past decades, thousands of Kurds, Armenians, Alawites and Syriacs have fled Turkey as a result of government policies against components, sects and religions in the country, but today those fleeing confirm that they fled as a result of their political positions against Erdogan.

It is worth noting that, since mid-2016, immigration from Turkey to Europe is no longer limited to the members of religious and ethnic minorities, as the Turks have joined them as well, especially journalists, judges, army and gendarmes who were overthrown by Erdogan after accusing them of being behind the coup attempt.

Last year, Turkish citizenship holders who sought asylum in several European countries, as is the case in Germany, which has the largest Turkish community.

Two years ago, they were ranked fourth, after Syrians, Iraqis and Nigerians, according to the German Interior Ministry, which said earlier this year that "the number of asylum applications submitted by Turkish citizens is on the rise."