IIn Austria, the spectacular arrest of a rejected asylum seeker during his wedding and his immediate deportation to Turkey attracted attention. The 26-year-old man was arrested by asylum officers on Saturday during his own civil wedding and taken into custody pending deportation.
On Tuesday evening, the Kurd was deported to Turkey, of which he is a citizen. Since he has not yet completed compulsory military service there, he could soon receive his call-up.
No persecution within the meaning of the Geneva Refugee Convention
His lawyer and his bride, who call him by his first name Hamza, dramatically described the circumstances of the arrest in the Austrian media. Accordingly, the civil wedding had already begun in Vösendorf Castle in Lower Austria. The registrar apologized briefly during the ceremony, went out and came back accompanied by several officials from the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum (BFA).
They took Hamza with them before the marriage could be legally concluded. This is significant because the 40-year-old bride is a German citizen. During an appearance on the “Puls24” channel on Tuesday evening, Gundula Maria Beduhn described herself as a “European German by choice” and made serious allegations against the Austrian authorities.
The asylum office presents the case as follows: The Turkish citizen submitted an asylum application in Austria in March 2022. After examination, it was concluded that he would not be at risk of persecution within the meaning of the Geneva Refugee Convention if he returned. The negative decision was confirmed in all instances appealed to, most recently an extraordinary appeal was rejected by the Administrative Court in December 2023.
The man had allowed the deadline for voluntary departure to pass and had “already thwarted thirteen arrest attempts by going into hiding.” He was never found at his official registration address. He did not provide any information about an existing partnership or an intended marriage as part of the asylum procedure. However, since the civil office appointment became known to the BFA, this was “the only possibility of carrying out the arrest”.
Time of arrest for “sadistic” reasons
This representation was rejected as untrue by the lawyer of the rejected asylum seeker as well as by Beduhn in the television interview. Hamza worked legally at a job known to authorities, Beduhn said. “That's something of a lie.” His lawyer said in the “Kurier” newspaper that the young man had not been found in mid-November 2023 and had been informed about it by a relative. He then went to a police station and picked up a document for voluntary return advice.
An employee of the law firm telephoned the BFA, which promised to wait for the outcome of the audit. The appeal was rejected ten days before the marriage, on January 3rd. After that there was no more contact with the BFA. From a legal perspective, he could have been arrested when he visited the police station. However, the BFA decided not to do that but to wait and see.
Beduhn made the accusation that the time during the intended marriage was chosen for the arrest for “sadistic” reasons. Her groom was also denied medical help while in detention pending deportation. In response to a question about the possible insinuation that Hamza might have sought the marriage solely for the purpose of obtaining a residence permit, Beduhn rejected this. However, she accused the officers of apparently laughing at her for this reason.
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