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2020 RLLR 116

Citation: 2020 RLLR 116
Tribunal: Refugee Protection Division
Date of Decision: March 9, 2020
Panel: Janko Predovic
Counsel for the Claimant(s):
Country: Turkey
RPD Number: VB9-05301
Associated RPD Number(s):
ATIP Number: A-2021-00945
ATIP Pages: 000208-000212

— DECISION

[1]       PRESIDING MEMBER: This is the decision of the Refugee Protection, RPD, in the claim of [XXX] a citizen of Turkey who seeks refugee protection pursuant to s. 96 and s. 97(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or IRPA.

[2]       Sir, you allege that you have been involved with the Gulen or Hizmet movement for several years and since that time you have resided in Hizmet dormitories, learned at Hizmet educational institutions, banked at Hizmet affiliated financial institutions, consumed Hizmet media and attended Hizmet community gatherings and events.

[3]       After the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, the Hizmet movement was blamed and a crackdown occurred. You heard of Hizmet colleagues having been detained by Turkish government authorities and you have been informed that police have attended your former home numerous times in search of you personally commencing in 2017.

[4]       In 2014, you moved to Cyprus on a student permit and you resided there until 2018. At that point, you travelled to the United States and you met with the leader of the Hizmet movement Mr. Fethullah Gulen himself.

[5]       You fear that if you return to Turkey you will be persecuted on account of your Hizmet affiliation.

[6]       My determination, sir, is that you are a Convention refugee pursuant to s. 96 of the IRPA and your claim is, therefore, accepted.

[7]       The reasons for that determination follow now:

[8]       Your identity and your status as a national of Turkey have been established by the copy of your Turkish passport on file and I am satisfied on a balance of probabilities that you are a citizen of Turkey and no other country.

[9]       Though you did spend some time in Cyprus, I’m satisfied on a balance of probabilities that you were there on temporary permits only with no citizen like status. First, as a student and then as a teacher. This is sufficiently corroborated in my view by the copy of your student permit which is found at Exhibit number 5.

[10]     Your fear of persecution in Turkey is by reason of affiliation with the Gulen or Hizmet movement which started decades ago as a religious movement in Turkey. Today, it’s a little bit wider than that it bridges gaps between religion, politics and charitable work. The movement operates a network of schools, businesses, media outlets, charities, private hospitals and health clinics and so on. And Turkish President Erdogan has closed schools and media outlets in Turkey associated with the movement and he has categized it as a terrorist organization.

[11]     Based on the nature of the Hizmet movement as it straddles these political and religious lines, I conclude that there is a nexus between your allegations of persecution and the Convention grounds of religion as well as political opinion. Accordingly, I will assess your claim for protection under s. 96 of the IRPA.

[12]     I’ll touch briefly on your credibility now. In refugee determination cases there is a presumption that claimants and their allegations are truthful and I have identified no material inconsistencies or contradictions between your basis of claim and the other evidence before me, and your narrative does correspond to the objective evidence about conditions in Turkey for those belonging to or being associated with the Gulen movement.

[13]     You have also provided a copy of a summons corroborating the fact that police in Turkey have sought you out, and you have provided a photo of yourself with Mr. Gulen himself taken when you visited him in the United States where he resides in exile.

[14]     Ultimately, I have no reason to doubt the central element of your claim for protection, namely that you belong to the Hizmet Movement. Having accepted this, I also accept that you subjectively fear persecution in Turkey.

[15]     And I’ll note that I take no negative inference from your failure to claim protection in the United States, as you’ve indicated that was in part due to the present administrations animus to refugee claimants, and I find that to be a reasonable explanation. I turn now to the objective evidence regarding the treatment of Gulen followers in Turkey, and I’ll rely largely on Item 4.6 of the most recent national documentation package for that country. This is an IRB research and information report dated January 6, 2020, so it’s actually quite recent.

[16]     Now, as I’ve already referenced the Gulen movement is active around the world it operates schools, businesses, media outlets and charities. And Gulen followers have been continually targeted by the Turkish government following the 2016 failed coup attempt. Though the government has labelled that movement as a terrorist organization effectively declaring war on it. Many businesses have since closed due to their links with the Gulen movement and those suspected of being Gulen followers have been directly targeted resulting in many many serious violations of human rights on a systemic basis.

[17]     I’ll quote two prominent leaders in the Turkish government to give you an idea. Turkish President Erdogan is reported to have said in 2018 and I quote:

We’re purging every Gulenist in the army in the police and in state institutions, and we will continue cleansing these organizations of them because we will eradicate this cancer from the body of this country and the state. They will not enjoy the right to life. Our fight against them will continue until the end. We won’t leave them merely wounded.

[18]     The Turkish Economy Minister said something along the same lines in 2016 and I quote:

We will put those responsible for the coup, referring of course to the Gulen Movement members, into such holes for punishment that they won’t even — that they won’t even be able to see the sun of God as long as they breathe. They will not see the light of day. They will not hear a human voice. They will beg for death saying just kills us.

[19]     Authorities have taken these comments to heart and have vigorously acted on them. According to one report, a purge of Hizmet members within the state apparatus has resulted in the dismissal, detainment and arrest of tens of thousands. One source sites a 150,000 individuals dismissed, 500,000 investigated, 100,000 arrested, 6,000 academics discharged, 4,500 judges and prosecutors dismissed and 300 journalists arrested. Dismissals also include the cancellation of passports preventing people from leaving the country and escaping persecution.

[20]     The government has, through 2019, continued to detain and arrest even merely suspected Hizmet sympathizers. The Guardian newspaper reports that in February 2019 the government-issued arrest warrants for a further 1,100 people with suspected connections to the Gulenist movement.

[21]     Similarly, Reuters indicates that the ordering of the arrest of 1,100 people is one of the government’s largest operations against alleged supporters of the Gulen Movement.

[22]     Al Jazeera has stated that more than 760 people were detained in operations all across Turkey. Although 122 of those were later freed under judicial supervision.

[23]     Another source indicates that evidence is not necessary to keep someone in prison for months or years when they are suspected Gulenists, and another says the parallel is compounded a compromised justice system in which judges do not release suspects for being — for fear of being labelled Gulenists themselves.

[24]     It’s further reported that Hizmet detainees have faced different forms of torture and ill-treatment by the police and other government forces. Human Rights Watch indicates that cases of abductions which likely amount to enforced disappearances are — are, pardon me let me rephrase that. Human Rights Watch reports that there are cases of abductions which likely amount to enforced disappearances by state authorities. Abductions or kidnappings reportedly serve as part of the persecution launched by the Turkish president and his government primarily against participants of the Gulen movement.

[25]     Further, it is reported that the Turkish government targets people using guilt by association. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has observed such a pattern of application of punitive measures targeting not just primary “suspects” such as civil servants or human rights activists, but also people associated with them particularly family members including children, siblings, parents and other relatives as well as friends, neighbours, work associates or even social media contacts that they do not necessarily know. This, of course, violates principles of individual responsibility, fairness and legal certainty.

[26]     Based on the foregoing objective evidence and my finding that, sir, you are indeed a Hizmet or Gulen follower, I find that you have established with sufficient credible and reliable evidence that you face a serious possibility of persecution in Turkey.

[27]     I’ve considered whether state protection or an internal flight alternative is available to you, however, as the state is the agent of persecution it would not be reasonable for you to seek state protection in Turkey nor would it be forthcoming if you were to do so. More likely you would be handing yourself over for persecution.

[28]     For similar reasons an internal flight alternative is not available. The persecution of Gulen followers occurs uniformly throughout Turkey and the government has declared that the movement is a terrorist organization. As Gulen followers, suspected followers and even family members of followers are targeted uniformly throughout the country there is nowhere you could go in the country where you would be free from a serious possibility of persecution.

[29]     Ultimately my conclusion, sir, is that you are a Convention refugee and I accept your claim under s. 96 of the IRPA.

— DECISION CONCLUDED