10.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Falsified Documents ("Country Report - October 2005") [#40563], [ID 13377]

"5.77 The Norwegian Country of Origin Information Centre ‘Report of fact-finding mission to Turkey (7-17 October 2004)’ noted that:

“The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration has repeatedly been presented so-called documents ‘proving’ that an asylum-seeker was wanted by the Turkish authorities. Some of these documents were – according to the applicant – issued either by the Gendarmerie/Police or by the Ministry of Justice. All lawyers I asked about this invalidated the possible authenticity of such documents. Neither law enforcement authorities nor any other Turkish official were entitled to issue such a confirmation. Neither detention-orders, nor warrants were handed out to the suspect or any other third person before the suspect was detained. Both Mr. Islambay and Mr. Demirtaş claimed, however, that it was widely known that such (and other) ‘documents’ could be attained through bribery. Tanrikulu and Demirtaş mentioned that two court ushers from the former State Security Court in Diyarbakir had been arrested in the summer of 2004 and had been charged with corruption for selling fake documents. Such cases could be found all over the country and the two officials from Diyarbakýr where only the tip of the iceberg. Demirtaş and Islambay further mentioned that the problem of corruption was widespread and that this also applied to lawyers. One person working at a lawyers’ office told me that they repeatedly had declined requests to produce fake documentary evidence, ‘sufficient’ for asylum applications. One lawyer stated that he had repeatedly rejected offers from Turkish citizens already staying in Western Europe, who offered him between 5,000 and 10,000 Euro for a complete ‘asylum-file’. The same lawyer told me that it was considered ‘easy’ to get fake documents in Turkey and assumed that ‘most of the documents presented to European Migration authorities are fake’.” [16] (p24-25)

5.78 The Norwegian report continued:

“One lawyer stressed that it might prove difficult and unreliable to judge documents only by the looks of it since different types of forms (or only letters) may be used at different prosecutors offices (e.g. Fezlekes). Only a lawyer could conduct a reliable verification, since he/she could compare the document’s contents (such as case-numbers) with the respective registries. Another lawyer told me that he had verified several documents for European Immigration authorities and that most of these documents had proved to be falsified. He had further noticed that most of these documents (some of them being ‘warrants’) referred to article 169 in the (old) Turkish Criminal Code. According to him, this article does not play an important role any more and it rarely leads to punishment: ‘You can send the persons with article 169 back to Turkey, nothing will happen to them’. However, persons who are wanted for activities sanctioned by articles 125 and 168 in the Penal Code might still face severe problems after return, according to Demirtaş. He stressed that some of these persons really might be in need of protection and he suggested that documentation on such cases should be carefully verified.” [16] (p25)"

Document(s): Open document

21.06.2003 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Passverbote werden heute ausser für Refraktäre und Deserteure nur noch selten verfügt ("Zur aktuellen Situation - Juni 2003 ") [#14557], [ID 13378]

"Passverbote werden heute ausser für Refraktäre und Deserteure nur noch selten verfügt. In der Regel werden Personen, gegen die ein Gerichtsurteil ergangen ist, einem Passverbot unterstellt. Während ein Verfahren läuft, sollte eigentlich kein Passverbot bestehen, ausser eine Person sei zur Fahndung ausgeschrieben."

Document(s): Open document

21.06.2003 - Source: Schweizerische Flüchtlingshilfe

Registrierung: es gibt verschiedene Registrierungssysteme ("Zur aktuellen Situation - Juni 2003 ") [#14557], [ID 13379]

"In der Türkei gibt es verschiedene Registrierungssysteme. Das Hauptregistriersystem ist das GBTS (Genel Bilgi Toplama Sistemi – Allgemeines Informationssammlungssystem). Dieses System enthält zahlreiche persönliche Daten wie Informationen über Haftbefehle, frühere Verhaftungen, Ausreiseverbote, Refraktion, Desertion, Informationen über Weige-rungen, Militärsteuern zu begleichen und Steuerverzögerungen. Verbüsste Strafen werden in der Regel aus diesem Informationssystem herausgenommen und ins Strafregister einge-tragen (Adli Sicil). Die Schweizer Botschaft hat Zugang zum GBTS.
Die Praxis hat jedoch gezeigt, dass dieses System trotz seiner Benennung bei weitem nicht alle Informationen über eine Person enthält. Konkrete Beispiele haben gezeigt, dass eine Person in der Regel erst nach einer Anklage oder nach Erlass eines Haftbefehls durch die Staatsanwaltschaft oder durch ein Gericht im System registriert ist.
Personen, die erst von der Polizei oder der Gendarmerie wegen eines politischen Delikts gesucht werden, resultieren bei der Botschaftsanfrage in der Regel als nicht gesuchte Per-sonen. Dies muss auf das Instruktions- und Geheimhaltungsinteresse der Polizei bzw. Gen-darmerie zurückgeführt werden. Sie wollen, was nachvollziehbar ist, ihre Arbeit nicht durch eine weite Verbreitung der Namen von verdächtigen Personen negativ beeinflussen.
In mehreren Fällen konnten wir feststellen, dass als PKK-SympathisantInnen oder –AktivistInnen denunzierte Personen bei der Botschaftsuntersuchung als nicht gesucht und nicht registriert resultierten, obwohl authentische Polizeiprotokolle bewiesen, dass sie namentlich denunziert worden sind. Das BFF hat in diesen Fällen Asyl erteilt, da die Verfolgungsgefahr aufgrund der Denunziation in einem offiziellen Polizeiprotokoll als gegeben angesehen wur-de. Wir empfehlen deshalb sämtlichen RechtsvertreterInnen, ihre MandantInnen aufzufor-dern, die Polizeiprotokolle von verhafteten Personen beizubringen, die ihren Namen ange-geben haben könnten. Nicht selten gelingt es nämlich, anhand dieser Protokolle auszuma-chen, ob eine Person denunziert worden ist.
Zu erwähnen ist, dass die verschiedenen Sicherheitskräfte nebst dem GTBS, allgemeinen Registriersystem eigene Registriersysteme haben. Zu diesen hat die Schweizer Botschaft keinen Zugang. Es handelt sich um die Register der Polizei, der Anti-Terror-Abteilung, der Gendarmerie, der JITEM, des militärischen Geheimdienstes etc. Es ist also durchaus mög-lich, dass eine Person im zentralen System nicht vermerkt ist, sie aber von der Anti-Terror-Einheit gesucht wird."

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: Passports ("Country Assessment - October 2002") [#9887], [ID 13380]

"6.74 A Turk who wishes to have a passport must apply in person at the passport office at the main police headquaters in the city or area where he lives; an application cannot be made through an agent. The regional passport office makes checks to verify his or her identity. These checks include establishing whether the applicant has criminal convictions and/or is wanted by the authorities. The applicant is always asked why the passport is wanted. The IND fact-finding mission was advised by an interlocutor that the Issue of a passport would not be withheld if the applicant had not completed his military service; this is because there are provisions in law to defer military service. However, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs' "Turkey/military service" report records that persons of call-up age are not usually issued with passports, and cannot have passports renewed. In a small number of cases, and with the consent of the military authorities, a passport with a short period of validity is issued. The entry "yapmiþtir" (done) or "yapmamiþtir" (not done) in the passport indicates whether the holder has completed military service or not.

6.75 There are four different types of passport:

(i) Red (diplomatic)

(ii) Grey (service). Issued to lower rank government officials who are being sent abroad for a short time on official duty.

(iii) Green (officials). Issued to government officials and civil servants, including teachers, who have reached a certain level, and their wives, sons (until age 18) and daughters (until they marry). The qualification for these passports is based on hierarchy and length of service in government. Holders of green passports do not, unlike holders of blue passports, require visas for travel to some European countries, and find it easier to obtain visas for travel to such other countries as USA. The "Turkish Daily News" reported on 15 March 2000 that the European Union was expressing unease over the increase in the number of green passports issued; the figures quoted were 40,000 in Istanbul alone, compared with 10,000 blue (over which period is unclear).

(iv) Blue. Issued to ordinary citizens."

Document(s): Open document

10.2002 - Source: UK Home Office

UK Home Office: Nüfüs card/identity card ("Country Assessment - October 2002") [#9887], [ID 13382]

"6.79 Each sub-provincial district has a population registry, also known as the population office, ultimately coming under the Ministry of the Interior, where all the district's inhabitants are supposed to be registered. In practice, many people are entered in the population register for their place of birth or even their parents' place of birth. Since 28 October 2000 each citizen has had is/her own single, nationally registered, unalterable eleven-digit identity number. Population registers do not include details of addresses. Limited records of addresses are kept by village or neighbourhood heads.

6.80 The population registry also has responsibility for issue of identity cards (nüfus cüzdani). This is the only valid domestic identity document, and everyone is required to carry it at all times; failure to do so renders one liable to three days' detention. Births have to be registered to the population registry for the place of birth without delay, so that a nüfus card can be issued straight away.

6.81 The nüfus card is blue for men and pink/orange/yellow for women. It is covered with plastic laminate, and is 9.5 cm. long by 7 cm. wide. The card states the holder's date of birth, place of birth, father's and mother's names, religion and marital status. The card also states where the holder is registered in the population register. The card does not need to bear a passport-sized photo until the holder is 15 years old. From the age of 15, the holder has to have the card renewed every 10 years. In the event of marriage, divorce or transfer to the population register for another locality, a new card has to be applied for, although in practice (particular in the case of transfer to another population register) this is not always done. There is a proposal for a new, credit-card-format identity document, to include the personal identity number introduced in October 2000. Para 2.4.5 of the IND fact-finding mission to Turkey report records that the mission in March 2001 saw at first hand fake identity cards being sold openly on the streets of Istanbul within sight of the police."

Document(s): Open document

30.08.2001 - Source: Council of the European Union

United Kingdom delegation to CIREA: One format of arrest warrants; two ways to inform the addressee about the warrant ("Note from the United Kingdom delegation to CIREA: Report on the fact-finding mission to Turkey Rf: 11498/01") [#8473], [ID 13385]

"4.2.1 There is one format of arrest warrant, but there are two ways to inform the addressee about the warrant. (i) The arrest warrant is read in person to the addressee/arrestee. (ii) The warrant may be issued in absentia, authorising the police or Jandarma to locate and apprehend the person involved for questioning and appearance before the prosecutor. In both cases the prosecutor requests the warrant, and the authorisation to arrest is given by the court or by the judge. If the police or Jandarma arrest someone when in hot pursuit, the warrant must be approved retrospectively within 48 hours.

4.2.2 A number of Turkish asylum seekers in the United Kingdom produce documents purporting to be properly issued arrest warrants and other legal documents. A senior official at the Ministry of Justice gave the IND mission specimens of these documents against which those produced in future by asylum applicants can be compared. He also provided information about how such warrants can be identified and authenticated by means of the numbering and other features on the Report on UK Immigration & Nationality Directorate fact finding mission to Turkey warrants. In law any individual has a right to obtain a copy of court documents - including arrest warrants - made against them. A lawyer or family member may act for that person in the person's absence, and may obtain such a copy without preconditions."

Document(s): Open document