İYİ Party files lawsuit for the cancellation of citizenships granted to Syrians and foreigners

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu announced that they have filed lawsuits with the Ankara Administrative Court and the Council of State for the cancellation of procedures related to Syrian nationals and foreigners acquiring Turkish citizenship in exchange for foreign currency and real estate purchases.

In a statement made in front of the Council of State alongside some party members, Dervişoğlu claimed that the Turkish national identity and the Republic of Turkey are facing an existential threat, and stated that the İYİ Party has taken action on legal grounds based on the interests of the Turkish nation.

Stating that 309 thousand houses have been sold to foreigners in the last 7 years, Dervişoğlu noted that statistics reveal at least half of these housing sales were in exchange for citizenship.

Pointing out that Article 12 of the Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 clearly states the conditions under which exceptional citizenship can be granted, Dervişoğlu conveyed that, in accordance with the principle of limited numbers, granting citizenship in exchange for foreign currency is not among these conditions.

Explaining that it became possible to grant Turkish citizenship to a certain number of foreigners in exchange for purchasing real estate with money through Article 20 of the Turkish Citizenship Law Regulation, which was put into effect by a Presidential decree, Dervişoğlu stated that the Constitution mandates that the conditions for acquiring citizenship be regulated by law.

"ENTIRELY CONTRARY TO THE LAW"

Dervişoğlu stated that no regulation can be above the law and continued as follows:

"Therefore, all citizenships distributed by the President through exceptional means, without exception, are both unconstitutional and lack a legal basis. All citizenships granted in exchange for foreign currency and real estate purchases are contrary to the law. For this reason, in order to protect the rights of the Turkish nation and the honor and reputation of Turkish citizenship, we, as the İYİ Party, have filed a lawsuit with the Council of State for the cancellation of all citizenships distributed in exchange for money."

Explaining that the other lawsuit they filed concerns the citizenship granted by the Ministry of Interior to Syrian asylum seekers, Dervişoğlu said, "According to the statements of the Ministry of Interior, the government has granted Turkish citizenship to 238 thousand Syrian asylum seekers to date. All of the Turkish citizenships that the Justice and Development Party government has granted to 238 thousand Syrians are contrary to the laws of the Republic of Turkey. Syrian nationals can never acquire citizenship through the acquisition of real estate."

"SYRIANS CANNOT APPLY FOR TURKISH CITIZENSHIP DUE TO THEIR RESIDENCE PERIODS"

Dervişoğlu stated that the law, which was issued in 1927 as the 1062 restriction and is still in force, makes it impossible to grant citizenship to Syrian nationals through property acquisition due to historical issues between Turkey and Syria and the Hatay issue.

Müsavat Dervişoğlu made the following assessments:

"Furthermore, Article 25 of the temporary protection regulation dated October 22, 2014, of the Law on Foreigners and International Protection No. 6458, states, 'The duration of temporary protection is not counted in the total residence permit and does not grant its holder the right to apply for Turkish citizenship.' In other words, no matter how many years they stay in Turkey, Syrian asylum seekers under temporary protection status cannot apply for Turkish citizenship due to their residence periods here.

As the İYİ Party, we have initiated a legal process for the cancellation of all 238 thousand citizenships distributed by the Justice and Development Party to Syrian asylum seekers in violation of the laws. The lawsuits we have filed are extremely justified in terms of their legal foundations and are based on concrete evidence. As a result of this lawsuit filed by the İYİ Party, with the manifestation of justice, all citizenships distributed by the government to hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers and foreigners will be cancelled."

Providing information that they have filed cancellation lawsuits with both the Ankara Administrative Court and the 10th Chamber of the Council of State for each administrative act and citizenship regarding the granting of citizenship to Syrian nationals, Dervişoğlu stated that they have requested to intervene in the lawsuit filed by the Union of Turkish Bar Associations with the 10th Chamber of the Council of State for the cancellation of the "Regulation on Amendments to the Regulation on the Implementation of the Turkish Citizenship Law."

News Source: AA