A Dutch court overturned the asylum rejections of a Turkish father and son, citing the continued criminal investigation and prosecution of people linked to the faith-based Gülen movement in Turkey and the lack of effective legal protection against such proceedings.
The Hague District Court ruled on November 2 that the Dutch government’s December 2023 decision to tighten asylum policy for Gülen movement supporters was not adequately justified by evidence of improved conditions in Turkey. Dutch immigration authorities had rejected the father and son’s asylum applications in December 2025.
In March the Dutch Council of State, the country’s highest administrative court, upheld the government’s stricter asylum policy for Gülen movement followers, citing a decline in prosecutions and signs of improved judicial scrutiny in Turkey. Dutch immigration authorities had rejected the father and son’s asylum applications in December 2025.
The father had served more than two years in prison and been dismissed from public service over alleged links to the Gülen movement. After his release, he helped families of imprisoned movement members visit their relatives and tutored their children.
The court found that the father’s previous imprisonment amounted to persecution and said Dutch authorities had to demonstrate why he would not face persecution again if returned to Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has targeted the faith-based Gülen movement, inspired by Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who died in 2024, since corruption investigations in December 2013 implicated Erdoğan as well as some members of his family and inner circle. He dismissed the probes as a Gülenist conspiracy and designated the movement as a terrorist organization in May 2016, intensifying a sweeping crackdown after a coup attempt in July of the same year that he accused Gülen of orchestrating. The movement denies involvement in the attempted coup or any terrorist activity.
Citing reports by the Finnish Immigration Service and the Dutch government, the court said people previously convicted over Gülen movement links could face renewed prosecution and that Turkish authorities associated assistance to prisoners’ families with alleged efforts to rebuild the movement.
Turkish authorities have detained at least 197 people over alleged links to the Gülen movement since October 1. In a November 3 operation police detained 21 people, including seven accused of providing financial assistance to prisoners’ families.
The court also found that Dutch immigration authorities had failed to adequately assess the risks facing the son due to his father’s conviction and his attendance at Gülen-affiliated schools. It said they had also failed to properly consider that both applicants belonged to a group officially recognized by the Netherlands since July 2024 as being at heightened risk of persecution.
The court rejected the authorities’ argument that the family’s legal departure from Turkey indicated they were no longer at risk, saying it did not rule out continued scrutiny or future prosecution.
The court further said asylum applicants could not be expected to conceal their religious beliefs or limit their activities to avoid persecution. It found that the authorities had not established that the father and son would refrain from participating in Gülen movement activities if they returned to Turkey.
The court overturned both asylum rejections and ordered Dutch immigration authorities to issue new decisions within eight weeks. It did not grant either applicant refugee status.
According to figures released by Justice Minister Akın Gürlek in July 2026, more than 127,000 people have been convicted of alleged links to the movement since 2016, with 10,485 still in prison and legal proceedings ongoing against 83,404 individuals.
