Serhat Gültekin, the Kurdish activist and asylum seeker who was sent to a detention centre in Paris on Friday, has been deported to Turkey. He was reportedly handcuffed, bound and gagged before being forcibly put on a plane to Istanbul.
His lawyers, Şule Recepoğlu, Ümit Binici and Sidar Perçin, have said that they have been unable to meet with him. In a statement, they said, “Our client Serhat Gültekin has just been taken off the plane. He is being kept in the decontaminated zone at the airport to be handed over to security officials. We, as their lawyers, had a meeting with the prosecutor. We requested that he be referred to the hospital, provide safe treatment conditions and meet with us for effective legal assistance. We are currently waiting for the outcome of our requests.”
The lawyers’ request that Gültekin be referred to a hospital stem from the fact that he suffers from Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic condition requiring constant medical care. “He has also had pneumothorax twice and has serious stomach problems,” the lawyers said, highlighting their client’s need for medical support.
However, despite his conditions, the lawyers said Gültekin’s “health problems were ignored, his treatment was left unfinished, and it was decided to send him away unlawfully.”
The Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F) has criticised the decision of the French authorities, labelling it “behaviour contrary to the fundamental human values” of France, “a country known for its defence of human rights”.
De nombreuses personnes rassemblées en ce moment au 16 rue d’Enghien, à Paris, suite à l’expulsion du militant kurde Serhat Gültekin vers la Turquie.
Un appel est lancé pour une grande manifestation demain, samedi, à 14h, au départ de la Gare du Nord https://t.co/Q8EqPsmZr8 pic.twitter.com/RsjaGbfQvA
— Conseil Démocratique Kurde en France (@Le_CDKF) April 12, 2024
In a statement on their website, they called the decision “A denial of justice and an act of complicity with the Erdoğan dictatorship”.
According to the CDK-F, Gültekin was to appear before a Liberty and Detention judge who was to rule on the legality of his placement in detention on Saturday. “Sending Kurdish activists to Turkey before the courts rule is a total denial of law and justice, and it amounts to being complicit in Erdoğan’s dictatorship. It is a dishonour for France, for its values and for its history,” the CDK-F stated.
Gültekin is the third Kurdish activist in recent weeks to be deported from France to Turkey. Kurdish activist Mehmet Kopal was deported to Turkey on 9 April, with Firaz Korkmaz being deported previously.
On Friday, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party took to social media to denounce the deportation of Gültekin, highlighted that the definition of “terrorism” somehow includes “democratic opposition” while decrying the lack of any judicial procedure.
French Govt extradicts Kurdish politicians without judicial procedure. Definition of "terrorism" includes democratic opposition. EU countries can't concider AKP-MHP Government's claims on the politicians who had to be assylum-seeker.#SerhatGultekin pic.twitter.com/FIMHXetGlT
— DEM Party Foreign Affairs (@DEM_Diplomacy) April 12, 2024
The CDK-F have called for a mass demonstration in Paris on Saturday, starting from Gare du Nord at 2pm.
Meanwhile, France is continuing to face criticism for not acting against Zekeriya Çelikbilek, a Turkish man convicted in Belgium for attempting to assassinate Kurdish politicians, while deporting Kurdish refugees to Turkey where they face persecution.