Eleven Turkish nationals in a martial arts group have applied for asylum in Germany after police determined they had not come to take part in a karate tournament as they said, a police spokesman said on Dec. 10.
The group numbered 14 on arrival at Duesseldorf airport on a flight from Istanbul on Dec. 9, but police determined during checks that they were not going to a tournament and suspected one of their number was a people smuggler.
“Two voluntarily flew back to Turkey,” a spokesman for the federal police said, adding that the suspected smuggler, who was Turkish, had been detained by police.
The remaining 11, compromising 10 adults and one child, had been taken to a reception center for asylum seekers. The police spokesman could not say on what grounds they sought asylum.
In October, Germany’s Interior Ministry said 35 Turkish citizens with diplomatic passports had applied for asylum after the July 15 failed coup attempt.
German-Turkish relations have been strained over a series of issues, including Berlin’s criticism of mass arrests in Turkey and Ankara’s treatment of the media, and charges by Turkey that Germany is a safe haven for the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
