No: 232, 24 September 2016

Yesterday, Mr. Mevlüt Dudu, Member of Parliament for Hatay from Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a member of the CHP Party Council was subjected to a unacceptable treatment, to say the least, by the German passport police at the Frankfurt Airport during his visit to Germany. Although he answered all the questions which were in essence meaningless and unnecessary, and offered necessary clarifications, and most importantly, he is holder of a diplomatic passport, he met the vulgar attitude of the passport police, which has nothing to do with diplomatic courtesy, international practices and traditions. Furthermore, he was detained at the police centre of the airport for a while.

The issue was urgently brought to the attention of the Consulate General of Turkey in Frankfurt and the Embassy in Berlin immediately after the Ministry was informed about the incident. Consulate General in Frankfurt was instructed to request a comprehensive and satisfying explanation from the local authorities.

An official and satisfying answer has not yet been received from the competent German authorities regarding the said request of the Consulate General of Turkey, and Turkish authorities are still in contact with the German authorities.

It is not possible to accept such an ill-treatment of a Member of Parliament, representative of the Turkish people and holder of a diplomatic passport. We will continue to follow this issue. A satisfying explanation is expected from the German authorities.