Levent Kenez/Stockholm
A Turkish teacher whose application for political asylum in Norway was rejected and who was reportedly under investigation in Turkey was detained by airport police when he arrived in İstanbul.
Mahmut Örücü, a 41-year-old visual arts teacher and father of three, left Turkey in 2020 by crossing the Evros River between Greece and Turkey to escape arrest and an unfair trial due to his alleged affiliation with the Gülen movement, a group that opposes Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan branded the Gülen movement as a terrorist organization in the aftermath of December 2013 corruption investigations that incriminated him, his family members and his business and political associates in an Iran sanctions-busting scheme. He accused the late Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, of initiating the corruption probes, an accusation that Gülen denied.
The Turkish government also accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating a controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The movement, however, strongly denies any involvement.
The Turkish government accepted such activities as having an account at the Gülen-affiliated Bank Asya, working at a movement-linked school, subscribing to the group’s publications, being a member of a trade union or other institution linked to the Gülen movement and using the encrypted messaging application ByLock as benchmarks for identifying and arresting tens of thousands of followers of the Gülen movement on charges of membership in a terrorist organization.
Örücü arrived in Norway on September 24, 2022, and applied for political asylum and protection. His request was rejected by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) on the grounds that there was no arrest warrant or ongoing case against him. Saying there was always a possibility of prosecution or arrest in Turkey due to his affiliation with the Gülen movement and that individuals in similar circumstances had been granted protection status before in Norway, Örücü appealed the UDI decision to the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE). On October 17, 2024, the UNE rejected Örücü’s concerns and upheld the UDI decision. On the same day, the board ruled that Örücü must leave the country no later than October 17, 2024. His request for assistance to be deported to Greece, the country he had come from, was also refused.
A document sent by UDI to Örücü showing that the UNE application was also rejected. Örücü told Nordic Monitor that before arriving in Istanbul he did not bring some documents with him and since his phone was confiscated in Turkey he did not have access to many documents but was able to find this one:
Örücü said a terrorism case opened against him in 2016 for alleged Gülen movement membership and dismissed in 2018 was used in the UDI decision. He believes he became a victim of Norway’s shifting immigration policy after 2024. He says that working at Darıca Fatih College, a school affiliated with the Gülen movement, is considered sufficient grounds for arrest in Turkey and points to daily police operations targeting alleged members of the group as evidence.
His wife and three children, who also fled Turkey and crossed into Greece in 2024, later arrived in Denmark on November 17, 2024, and applied for asylum. Hoping to reunite with his family and acquire residence in Denmark for family unity, Örücü traveled there, joined his family and also applied for political asylum. He told Danish authorities that several investigations could be launched into him in Turkey due to his social media posts and that his X account had been suspended. Danish authorities advised him to reapply for asylum in Norway and present his new situation there. Considering Norway’s previous ruling, Denmark deported him to Norway.
Meanwhile, Örücü also sought help from the Norwegian Organisation for Asylum Seekers (NOAS), but the group declined to intervene. In a letter dated April 3, 2025, NOAS said it had reviewed his file and concluded that it could not assist him. The organization noted that both the UDI and the UNE had rejected his claim on the grounds that he did not face a real risk of persecution, adding that it only takes cases in which it believes it can overturn a negative decision.
The letter from NOAS to Örücü stating that the negative decision against him cannot be changed:
On August 21, 2025, Örücü landed in Oslo from Denmark and was met by Norwegian police, detained and informed that he would be deported to Turkey. Örücü told Nordic Monitor that a police officer of Turkish origin identified only by the initial S., who spoke Turkish fluently, took the envelope containing the documents he had been given in Denmark, tore it up without opening it and threw it into the trash, stating that he would no longer need them. He said this could be verified if the security camera footage at the airport police station were reviewed.
Örücü said he was put on a plane to Turkey with officer S. and two Norwegian police officers. Upon arriving in Istanbul, officer S. instructed him to say that he was in Norway to work if questioned and told him they would follow him and write a report.
Örücü says he only had a Turkish passport that expired in 2023. When he approached passport control at İstanbul Airport, the officer told him that the passport had expired and could no longer be used and then informed him that there was an outstanding warrant for his detention and that he would be taken into custody. Örücü said he never saw the Norwegian officers again, who, he believes, entered Turkey and returned to Norway the next day.
Örücü was detained by airport police at 00:15 on August 22, 2025. He later learned that the Kocaeli 3rd Criminal Court of Peace had issued a detention order for him on May 8, 2025. He was notified that he would testify via the SEGBİS video conference system at a court located in the airport. Without a lawyer, Örücü initially refused to testify, but police told him that the detention area was crowded, that he would receive legal assistance from the İstanbul Bar Association and that he would appear in court.
Document regarding Örücü’s apprehension at the airport, in which the airport police unit asks the Kocaeli court to get in touch with them for the submission of his statement:
In court Örücü learned that a new case had been opened against him, accusing him of membership in a terrorist organization due to a report based on his social media posts and of aiding Gülen movement members. The court ruled for his release under judicial supervision, requiring him to physically sign in at a police station until his social media posts could be verified.
An indictment dated September 25, 2025, sought a prison sentence of five to 10 years under Article 314/3 of the Turkish Penal Code for membership in an armed terrorist organization and requested the continuation of the judicial supervision measures. The indictment also included his condolence posts following the death of Fethullah Gülen. Örücü said, “I don’t think what I posted is a crime. I deny the charges.”
Indictment prepared against Örücü seeks imprisonment for membership in a terrorist organization:
Living in the Darıca district of Kocaeli province and trying to earn a living repairing computers, Örücü was served a notice requiring him to appear in court on January 21, 2026. Police verbally informed him that he had to give another statement to the prosecutor. Örücü testified again and his phone was seized. Fearing arrest and detention due to the charges and the increasing pressure and police raids on Gülen movement members in Turkey, Örücü crossed the Evros River again on November 10, 2025, fleeing to Greece to avoid imprisonment and mistreatment.
Visual arts teacher Mahmut Örücü was summoned to appear in court on January 21, 2026:
After crossing the border, Greek authorities detained him at the Fylakio detention center. Due to a six-month Schengen entry ban imposed by Norway, he was brought before a court and transferred to prison. He is currently being held in Xanthi, seeking legal assistance and stating that he is at risk of extradition to Turkey. Örücü also told Nordic Monitor that despite a UN official in Greece initially informing him that they would assist with his case and that his wife would be contacted by the UN office in Denmark, the meeting still has not taken place.
The crackdown on alleged members of the Gülen movement in Turkey continues unabated. During a budget presentation in parliament on November 17, 2025, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 3,258 operations targeting the group had been carried out in the first 10 months of the year. The minister regularly shares details of these raids on his social media accounts.
The likelihood of a fair trial in Turkey appears increasingly remote, as critics say the judiciary operates under the absolute control of President Erdogan. Recent data support those concerns. According to the European Court of Human Rights’ annual report for 2024, Turkey once again ranked among the countries with the highest number of human rights violations in Europe.
Report documenting the Turkish police’s attempt to hack Örücü’s Facebook account and their detection of incriminating content, which also includes a photo of Örücü with his wife, who is also a visual arts teacher:
The report shows that Turkey leads the continent in pending human rights cases before the ECtHR, with 21,613 applications still unresolved out of a total of 60,350, representing 35.8 percent of all pending cases at the court. Russia follows with roughly 8,150 pending files, Ukraine with 7,700 and Romania with 3,850. The scale of Turkey’s caseload highlights the depth of human rights concerns within the country.
The court noted that Turkey has repeatedly been found in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights due to systemic failings in its judicial system. Many rulings involve prolonged pretrial detention, politically motivated prosecutions and broad restrictions on freedom of expression. The report also pointed to the continued use of counterterrorism legislation against journalists, opposition politicians and human rights advocates as a persistent and troubling pattern.
