Asylum seekers from Turkey: Spying victims should receive protection

After the arrest of a lawyer of the German embassy in Ankara, the Federal Republic tries to limit the damage. When arrested in September, sensitive data from 47 asylum seekers who seek refuge in Germany should have come into the hands of the Turkish security authorities. Their applications are now expected to be approved by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (Bamf) and granted them protection in Germany. The SPIEGEL learned from safety circles.

The refugees are mainly Kurdish activists and alleged supporters of the Gülen movement, which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan classifies as a terrorist group.

The Turkish lawyer Yilmaz S. should clarify in Turkey on behalf of the Foreign Office, whether the asylum seekers there are prosecuted. From the point of view of the Federal Government and the Bamf this is "a common practice". Turkey accuses the lawyer of espionage. He had already been arrested on 17 September, but this was known only on Wednesday by a report by SPIEGEL.

In addition to the Federal Criminal Police Office and the State Criminal Police Office, the Federal Data Protection Commissioner Ulrich Kelber (SPD) is involved in the processing of the serious incident. Take "the process very seriously," said the Federal Interior Ministry.