Turkey: Treatment of a Turkish citizen who "jumps ship"; University admission of a person with an anti-government political record
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 October 1989 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | TUR2584 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Turkey: Treatment of a Turkish citizen who "jumps ship"; University admission of a person with an anti-government political record, 1 October 1989, TUR2584, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aac988.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No information is available to the IRBDC at the present time in published sources regarding the possible treatment of a Turkish citizen who "jumps ship" in order to make a claim for refugee status. Amnesty International could offer no comment on the matter. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva was also contacted for information on this topic. A spokesperson stated that there is an article of the Turkish Penal Code, Article 140, which makes it an offence to spread information or carry out activities abroad which damage the reputation of the Turkish state. The maximum penalty is five (5) years, but the sentences are usually lesser. According to this source, a person's chances of being convicted under this statute are greater if the person normally resides in one of the smaller Turkish cities or towns, and is thus well known to the local authorities. But the UNHCR representative could not say whether this statute would be applied to a person who "jumped ship" in order to make a refugee claim. The information provided by the UNHCR cannot be corroborated in published sources regularly consulted by the IRBDC at the present time.
No information is currently available to the IRBDC in published sources regarding the possibility that a person with a record of anti-government activity would be refused admission to university. The source at the UNHCR stated that an arrest and short-term detention would not likely have had an effect upon a person's university admission after the coup. This information cannot be corroborated at the present time by the IRBDC in published sources. On the current conditions for students in Turkey, please see the attached documentation.