The police took them by surprise - in the middle of the night.

This is how Mahmut A., father of a family of seven who was deported from Sontra in northern Hesse to Turkey at the beginning of December, portrays it.

He and his 18-year-old son were handcuffed.

Then the family was taken to Frankfurt am Main Airport - and from there to Istanbul.

If the family and the initiators of a petition have their way, it was an act of arbitrariness. Because Mahmut A. claims: He and his relatives are officially tolerated in Germany. According to WELT information, however, the prehistory of the repatriation is different from what was claimed.