Turkey disallows more than 120 German citizens to leave the country, report says

Turkish authorities were not allowing more than 120 German citizens to leave the country, due to their criticism of the Turkish government or their affiliation with some organizations Turkey deems to have links with terrorism, Turkish Minute reported on Wednesday, citing German newspaper Der Tagesspiegel.

Many of whom are Turkish or Kurdish origin, 64 German citizens are currently in jail in Turkey, while 58 were not allowed to return home because of a travel ban, Turkish-born German politician Gökay Akbulut from the Left Party told the German daily.

In response to Akbulut’s question about the number of German citizens who are unable to leave Turkey, the German Foreign Ministry said some German citizens were not even allowed to enter Turkey. 17 German citizens have faced entry refusals from Turkey so far since 2021, Akbulut told Der Tagesspiegel.

Many are being kept in Turkey because of their criticism of the Turkish government or membership in some Kurdish associations and the Gülen Movement, that Turkey blames for attempting to overthrow the government via a failed coup of July 2016, according to the newspaper. 

Turkey also accuses lots of Kurdish associations of having links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is an armed group waging an insurgency in Turkish soil for almost four decades. 

Akbulut told Tagesspiegel that she had heard from those affected that “people have been subjected to arrest warrants from the Turkish judiciary simply because of their commitment to Kurdish culture and language in Germany” or due to their social media posts. They are accused of, among other things, insulting the Turkish president, she said.