Scores of FETO suspects granted asylum in Germany

BERLIN

Scores of former Turkish officials with suspected ties to last year's defeated coup attempt in Turkey were granted asylum in Germany, the Interior Ministry confirmed Monday.

Some 768 Turkish citizens with diplomatic or service passports -- including former soldiers, officials and their family members -- applied for asylum in Germany, and so far 401 have received a positive response, the Ministry said in its reply to a parliamentary question from the opposition Left Party.

Many of the asylum applicants were officials or soldiers serving abroad when they were recalled by Ankara last year for their suspected ties to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) which orchestrated the attempted military takeover on July 15, 2016. The attempt left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara has long urged Berlin not to grant political asylum to former officials who are suspected of involvement in the deadly coup attempt, and to return them to Turkey for a fair and transparent trial at home.

Senior Turkish officials have criticized NATO ally Germany for failing to show strong solidarity with Turkey after the coup attempt, and turning a blind eye to the activities of FETO in the country.

In its reply in parliament, Germany’s Interior Ministry did not comment on Turkey’s criticism on FETO, and did not provide any information about the personal details of the asylum applicants, such as profession, position, party or group affiliation.

The ministry said, since July last year, 260 Turkish citizens with diplomatic passports, and 508 Turkish citizens with service passports had applied for asylum in Germany, and this included the family members of the ex-officials.

As of November this year, 192 of them were granted political asylum, and 209 others were granted refugee status by Germany’s immigration authority BAMF.

The ministry did not provide any information about the number of asylum applications filed by FETO members, who did not have any official position, and did not hold a diplomatic or service passport.

Nearly 4,000 suspected FETO members have come to Germany since last year's coup attempt, according to group members' statements on local media.

Germany, which is home to 3 million Turkish immigrants, is among the countries where FETO has a large network, including dozens of businesses, private schools and media organizations.

FETO carried out a long-running campaign in Turkey in an attempt to control the state through the infiltration of institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

In Germany, FETO members have taken care not to attract public criticism and have particularly focused on interfaith dialogue programs, sticking to moderate messages, thus generally winning the trust of the media, influential churches, and political institutions.

The terrorist group claims to have around 70,000 followers on German soil.