Canada has announced that from January 1, 2018 onwards, it will exempt the asylum applications of Turkish citizens from the court process. This means the procedure will be accelerated for asylum seekers from Turkey who escaped from the ruthless persecution of the despotic regime of Turkish autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
According to a report by online news portal Ahval, Canada, which is known for its welcoming approach, has listed the countries with “accelerated asylum” procedure includes Afghanistan, Burundi, Egypt, Eritrea, Iraq, Syria and Yemen as well as Turkey.
The change in policy aims at providing legal protections to those under risk quicker, and it is taken on the basis of certain conditions, such as an increase in applications, the acceptance rate from a specific country, or else a blanket decision over the conditions in a specific country.
Last year, the rate of acceptance of the Canada-wide asylum applications was 63 per cent, while 82 per cent of those from Turkish citizens were approved and the “protected person” status also covers the families of the applicants.
In a statement on the website of Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, it is said that ” Effective January 1, 2018, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) has designated claims for refugee protection from Turkey as eligible for processing under the Policy on the Expedited Processing of Refugee Claims by the Refugee Protection Division. This designation was initiated based on recent acceptance rates, a sufficiently high volume of cases, and a review of common claim types and issues relating to claims from this country.
For more information on this process please consult the information sheet on the expedited processing of refugee claims by the Refugee Protection Division.”
Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15. Turkey’s Interior Minister announced on December 12, 2017 that 55,665 people have been arrested. Previously, on December 13, 2017, The Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
Moreover, tens of thousands of people fled from the country to escape arbitrary and lawless persecution of despotic regime of autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan following the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
