PRESS RELEASE: Sigmaringen Administrative Court: Criminal proceedings against members of the Gülen movement in Turkey are politically motivated and unlawful

On November 24, 2025, the Sigmaringen Administrative Court issued a ruling in the asylum proceedings of a Gülen supporter that could set an important precedent for future cases.

Background and rejection by the Federal Office:

The applicant was sentenced to eight years and four months in Turkey for “membership in the Gülen movement” and has served his prison sentence. After his release, he decided to leave Turkey, traveled abroad with his passport, and applied for asylum in Germany on November 22, 2023.

On August 30, 2024, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees rejected his asylum application on the following grounds:

1. No longer actively persecuted
   The prison sentence has already been served, there are no further proceedings, and the applicant left the country with his own passport without any problems.
2. Renewed persecution merely an abstract possibility
   The applicant’s concern about further persecution “is clearly not sufficient, as it is merely an abstract possibility of renewed persecution.”

To what extent is the court’s decision to contradict the Federal Office and recognize the applicant’s refugee status a special case?

Although the plaintiff had already served his original sentence, the court agreed with him that, according to the standards of the Turkish judiciary, further persecution was even likely. The court therefore considered the plaintiff’s concern that allegations not included in the original proceedings could lead to new proceedings to be justified. This ruling is therefore special in that it sets a precedent for future asylum proceedings with similar facts.

“NE BIS IN IDEM”

With reference to the judgment Demirhan and Others v. Turkey (2025) of the European Court of Human Rights, the court finds that supporters of the Gülen movement are generally subject to politically motivated and discriminatory judgments. In this context, the court emphasizes that the principle of ne bis in idem—not prosecuting a person twice for the same offense—is not respected by the Turkish judiciary. Ultimately, there is a real risk of repeated and arbitrary persecution in the future, resulting in disproportionate punishment of all Gülen supporters in similar circumstances.