London, Thanasis Gavos

As an unsafe country to return to Turks of nationals arriving through illegal routes in the United Kingdom, the British government considered the Turkey.

THE Rishi Sunak he had hoped to strike a deal with the Ankara government to repatriate irregular migrants following a rise in the number of Turkish citizens arriving on British soil by boat across the Channel.

A similar agreement has been concluded by British government with Albaniaas a result of which a decrease in irregular arrivals of Albanian immigrants has been recorded.

When reviewing the deal, however, UK Home Office officials ruled that Turkey was “a state that does not meet the criteria as generally safe”.

In the internal document of the ministry revealed by Times it is reported that based on analysis of past cases and anecdotal evidence, 99% of asylum applications from Turks in the UK are due to applicants’ fears for their safety in their own country.

The majority of them are “political” opponents of the regime, who are considered such by the government because of their real or even perceived involvement in opposition movements.

It also criticizes the “overzealous” implementation of anti-terror laws, concerns about the independence of the judiciary and allegations of torture and abuse in prisons.

There is also concern over Turkey’s compliance with critical rulings by the European Court of Human Rights – which, as the Times points out, he himself has appeared willing to ignore. British prime minister in case his decisions hinder his plan to send irregular migrants to Rwanda.

Last year on British shores they reached approx 3,000 Turkish immigrants, making them the third largest nationality among irregular migrants. This was an increase of 162% compared to the previous year.