Nordic Monitor/Stockholm
A Turkish journalist detained in Norway, where he went to apply for asylum, is fighting a legal battle against deportation to Turkey. If the journalist is deported, his arrest is considered certain given the previous actions of the Turkish government.
Zafer Yılmaz, 35, an editor for the Vienna-based Kronos news website who lived in Austria for almost 10 years and whose asylum application in Austria was previously rejected, was detained in Norway on April 15.
Yılmaz arrived in Norway to apply for asylum status a second time and to avoid deportation to Turkey. The Norwegian authorities stated that the decision of the Austrian court is binding on them due to Schengen rules, rejecting his application, Nordic Monitor has learned. He is now in custody, awaiting the conclusion of his appeal of the rejection of his application.
In 2018 Yılmaz applied for international protection and asylum in Vienna, where he first went to study at university 10 years ago, due to his affiliation with the Gülen movement, a group critical of the Turkish government.