The European Court of Justice ruled on Tuesday that an asylum request can be rejected if the person seeking shelter has any links to a terrorist group, regardless of terror activity or affiliations with terrorist organizations. Member of the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group Mostafa Lounani – a Moroccan national who spent six years in a Belgian prison after being convicted of forging documents as part of a network that sent volunteer fighters to Iraq in 2006 – applied for refugee status in 2010 amid fears that he would face persecution in his native country. Although his request was denied by the Belgian authorities, Belgium's refugee and immigration affairs institution filed an appeal on Lounani's behalf under the justification that he had not personally participated in any terror attack.
However, the European Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that even if someone doesn't commit or support an act of terror, the asylum request can be denied for helping to recruit, organize and equip foreign fighters. The court also said that Lounani provided logistical support to a group with an international dimension and that such acts can justify exclusion from refugee status.
The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group has been linked to major terrorist attacks including the 2003 Casablanca bombings and the 2004 Madrid train bombings.
The decision is also important for Turkey since many terrorists of the PKK and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) terror groups, which are on the EU terror list, are seeking asylum from the bloc under the auspices of being "persecuted" in their countries. Ankara argues that although EU leaders condemn PKK terror in rhetoric, the activities of the group in the EU countries contradict the EU authorities' stances.
Greece, a favorite hideaway for fugitive terrorists from Turkey, have denied the extradition requests of 50 terrorists sought by Ankara in accordance with bilateral and international treaties since 2007. The number of rejected extradition requests includes 24 members of the DHKP-C and one member of the PKK. Terrorists fleeing Turkey took shelter in refugee camps in Lavrion near Athens under the guise of asylum seekers, especially in the 1980s. Despite the closure of Lavrion in 2013 amid pressure from Turkey, Greece continues to be the primary destination for DHKP-C terrorists.
Also in early November last year, a Belgian court issued a scandalous decision and ruled that the charges of abduction of minors, deprivation of liberty and death threats against 36 PKK-linked suspects are unwarranted, claiming they cannot be considered "terror crimes" since the PKK's activities were an "armed struggle" and cannot be considered within the scope of terrorism. The decision was taken despite the PKK being recognized as a terror organization by the EU.
"Even though the PKK and the DHKP-C are listed as terrorist organizations by the EU, the bloc only care about 'Islamic terrorism,' and fails to cooperate with Turkey every time. We all remember what happened in the Fehriye Erdal case," said Ozan Ceyhun, a former member of European Parliament.
Fehriye Erdal, a member of the DHKP-C who was involved in the killing of prominent Turkish businessman Özdemir Sabancı in 1996, fled to Belgium after the murder and was not extradited to Turkey despite Ankara's demands, just like the PKK members. The country also does not recognize her as a terrorist and describes her as a "gang member."
Reminding that many PKK terrorists already travel freely inside Europe, Ceyhun added that he doesn't expect a new "perception" from the EU regarding better cooperation with Turkey on terrorism.
