A 27-year-old Kurdish refugee and activist, Serhat Gültekin, has been taken to a detention centre at Paris airport in France. It is expected that he will be deported to Turkey, where he will face a harsh prison sentence.
Gültekin is the third Kurdish activist in recent weeks to face deportation from France to Turkey. Kurdish activist Mehmet Kopal was deported to Turkey on 9 April, with Firaz Korkmaz being deported previously.
The Kurdish Democratic Council in France (CDK-F) has denounced 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”.
Gültekin had reportedly requested protection from France, citing persecution suffered in Turkey for his fight for democracy and the rights of minorities, particularly Kurds. After his asylum request was initially rejected, he submitted a new request, which issued him an asylum seeker certificate on 27 November 2023. However, a month later, he was instructed to leave French territory, on the grounds of not applying for a residence permit. This decision is contrary to the fundamental principles of the right to asylum stipulated in the Asylum and Immigration Act.
A petition launched by the CDK-F for Gültekin’s release highlights that he was “kidnapped and tortured on several occasions by the Turkish authorities” when he studied in Turkey.
It has also been reported that Gültekin is suffering from Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic condition requiring constant medical care.
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.
A similar petition was launched online previously for Mehmet Kopal and Firaz Korkmaz. The petition’s statement highlighted that “Democracy is a foreign concept in Turkey”. It also mentioned that in 2020, Amnesty International reported that freedom of expression continues to be suppressed in Turkey with dozens of journalists detained without fair trial.
However, despite the petition, both men were deported to Turkey. Kopal was forced to have his photo taken next to the Turkish flag while wearing handcuffs, as seen in TRT Haber’s news report.
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
