Around 450 Turkish diplomats, military officers seek asylum in Germany: Report

BERLIN

AP photo

Around 450 Turkish diplomats, military officers, judges and other public officers have applied for asylum in Germany, according to a report by Der Spiegel.

Reporting information provided by the country’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), the weekly said the number of Turkish officials and their family members who have applied for asylum in Germany had now reached around 450.

The officials are accused of having links to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who is accused of masterminding the July 2016 failed coup.

Some of those who sought asylum in the country included NATO military officers stationed in Belgium and a military attaché at the Turkish Embassy in an African country, the report said.

Overall, more than 7,700 Turkish citizens have applied for asylum in Germany, it added.

Only 8 percent of the asylum applications were approved last year, but authorities from BAMF estimate that this rate will increase in 2017.

The report also said applications from Turkish public officials have remained unprocessed for months but that BAMF has updated its guidelines for applications from the country regarding an assessment report by the German Foreign Office.

“There are clear indications of the systematic persecution of alleged adherents of the Gülen movement in Turkey,” the report said.