The number of Turkish citizens who applied for asylum in Germany increased dramatically following the June 24 elections in Turkey, hitting a record high in July, Deutsche Welle Turkish service reported on Tuesday.
According to a report by the Rheinische Post, a total of 884 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in Germany in June and 1,172 in July.
A total of 5,107 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in the first six months of 2018.
The number of applicants was 3,206 in the same period last year.
Left Party Deputy Chairman Sevim Dağdelen told the daily that the increase in the number of Turkish asylum seekers was linked to the results of the June 24 elections in Turkey.
Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay an official visit to Germany Sept. 28-29, local media reported Tuesday. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will greet Erdoğan with military honors, German news agency DPA reported, citing the German Presidency.
During his two-day stay, Erdoğan will also meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to DPA.
In late July, Steinmeier’s office confirmed that Berlin had extended an official invitation to Erdoğan for a state visit without giving a date. Erdoğan made his last official visit to Berlin in February 2014.
Erdoğan won the presidential election in the first round, while his party secured a majority in parliament with only the support of a nationalist party ally. (SCF with turkishminute.com)
