Alevi deputy in Turkey denied going abroad

An Alevi deputy from the pro-Kurdish HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) was denied on Sunday taking a plane to Sweden where his family lives, despite being on duty, having a Swedish citizenship and not being restricted by any court order.

“A decision from the interior ministry was declared to me in the airport which bans me from going abroad as I was about to take my plane to visit my family in Sweden, where I have been living for the last 35 years,” Ozen said on Twitter, sharing a photo of an official document which said “an annotation about him constitutes an obstacle to his departure.”

He added: “This completely arbitrary and vengeful practice exerted on a deputy who is actively involved in legislative activities in the parliament is incompatible with law. This ban should be lifted immediately.”

A member of the Alevi community in Turkey, Ozen is actively involved in the struggle for equal citizenship for the believers of Turkey’s largest religious minority.

Ozen is also the clerk member from the HDP in the EU Harmonization Commission and a member of the EU-Turkey joint parliament.

“Such a ban given to me as a parliamentarian who wrks abroad cannot be explained with reason and logic,” he concluded.