Joy Anna Crow Subaşıgüller, a U.S. citizen married to a Turkish Protestant Pasteur, was asked to leave Turkey in 10 days, according to a report by Deutsche Welle’s (DW) Turkish service. The decision came after the application to extend her residency permit was denied by the Ministry of Interior’s immigration office without any justification. Subaşıgüller has been living in Turkey with her husband and children for the last 10 years. They have carried the decision to a Turkish court.
Joy Anna Crow Subaşıgüller is the spouse of Lütfü Subaşıgüller, Pasteur of the Başkent (capital) Church. The couple have three little kids: a 4-month-old baby girl, a 2-year-old boy, and a 4-year-old girl. Lütfü Subaşıgüller said the decision was a threat to the unity of his family: “My children can’t live without their fathers or mothers. … Do they want us to leave our home, extended family, and country? Me and my three children are Turkish citizens. How am I supposed to explain this to them in the future?”
He also complained about the veil of secrecy that surrounds similar cases, “If there is anything suspicious then take us to the court, tell us what we are accused of and show the evidence. If there is any wrongdoing, put us into prison.”
Mrs. Subaşıgüller said she was shocked about the decision, “I love Turkey and Turkish people. I have been living in this country for 10 years and they were the best years of my life. I am thankful for that. … I am not a dangerous person. I am just taking care of my kids at home.”
Speaking to DW Turkish, Head of the Istanbul Protestant Church Foundation Timur Topuz said it was as if all Protestants in Turkey were declared enemies after the Pasteur Brunson incident and became the targets of intimidation policies. He said Protestant clerics and their families were systematically denied residence permits and the existing permits were revoked. According to Topuz more than 100 Protestants, including their families, experienced such problems.
American Pastor Andrew Brunson was arrested in the aftermath of the July 15, 2016, coup attempt due to alleged ties with the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization” (a derogatory term used by the Turkish government for the faith-based Gülen movement) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a terrorist organization recognized as such by the U.S. and the European Union. His lengthy pre-trial detention of almost two years has caused friction between the U.S. and Turkey. Shortly after the U.S. government started taking measures to hurt the Turkish economy and threatened further sanctions unless Brunson was released, a Turkish court convicted Brunson of aiding several terrorist organizations and released him for time served.
Lütfü Subaşıgüller said he was very sad about what they have been going through: “It seems that they want to deport my wife, just like other Protestant clerics with foreign nationalities and their families, because they are considered a threat to national security and public order and that really hurts us. …We pray for and protect the interests of our country.”
Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party Deputy from Mardin Tuma Çelik took the issue to the Turkish Parliament. In a parliamentary question to the Ministry of Interior Süleyman Soylu, Çelik said the rise in the number of deportation cases endangered religious liberties.
Çelik asked Soylu the definition of ‘N82’ and ‘G82’ codes used in the residence permit cancellation cases and the number of clerics and other people that were deported in such cases. He claimed that the said codes were used in denial and cancellations where there was a “threat to national security.” Çelik also asked Soylu about the rumors of a National Intelligence Agency (MİT) report that included a list that is being used as the basis of deportations.
Entry bans, denial of residency permit extensions, and deportations for long-time residents affiliated with Protestant churches in Turkey have also been highlighted in the U.S. State Department’s 2019 International Religious Freedom Report. The report also mentioned that the Protestant communities could not train clergy in the country and relied on foreign volunteers to serve them. According to the report, although the local communities stated their aim to develop in indigenous Turkish leaders in their congregations, they faced difficulties because they could not operate training facilities in-country.
The post American spouse of Turkish Pasteur to be deported without any reason appeared first on Stockholm Center for Freedom.
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/american-spouse-of-turkish-pasteur-to-be-deported-without-any-reason/
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