24 Temmuz 2025 MagazinStar

Europe’s Heartless Face: BAMF’s Psychological Torture Against LGBTQ+ Refugees

In the heart of the European Union, in a country that claims to stand for human rights and democracy, a soulless institution has been silently tormenting LGBTQ+ refugees for years. Its name is BAMF — the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees. Yet this office fails to live up to the idea of “federal” and shows no compassion worthy of the term “refugee.” On the contrary, it systematically rejects LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, especially those from Turkey, applying every form of psychological pressure to deport them. BAMF has become one of the darkest bureaucratic faces of modern times.

Not an Institution, But a Mechanism of Psychological Torture

BAMF routinely rejects LGBTQ+ asylum seekers under the pretext of “not credible,” questioning their identity, belittling their trauma, disregarding their testimonies, and intimidating them with the threat of deportation. These are not only unlawful decisions — they are inhumane.

Meanwhile, in countries like France, the Netherlands, Spain, the UK, and Malta, LGBTQ+ refugees are accepted based solely on their credible self-declaration. They are welcomed with compassion and granted the right to a dignified life. In Germany, the opposite is true: BAMF acts as though it has been tasked with “filtering out” LGBTQ+ individuals. This approach is incompatible with both the European Convention on Human Rights and the German Constitution. It is a scandal.

BAMF: An Institution With Neither Shame Nor Conscience

Can an institution have a conscience? It should — because behind every institution are human beings. But in the case of BAMF, it is hard to even refer to it as a “human” institution. No faces turn red, no one feels shame. In their eyes, trauma, violence, and death threats carry no meaning. Because conscience exists in humans — and those without it cannot be called human.

LGBTQ+ Asylum Claims Should Be Evaluated by LGBTQ+ Organizations

Germany’s discriminatory system, operated through BAMF, must come to an end. Especially in cases involving LGBTQ+ asylum seekers, the decision-making process should not be left in the hands of a homophobic, transphobic, bureaucratic apparatus. These decisions must be entrusted to LGBTQ+ organizations and civil society — the true sources of empathy, understanding, and humanity.

BAMF Must Be Abolished — A New Human Rights Framework Is Needed

Most decisions made by BAMF directly violate fundamental human rights principles. This institution has lost its legitimacy. It humiliates LGBTQ+ individuals, sends them back to danger and death, and breaks them psychologically. This structure must be dismantled. In its place, a new system should be created — one based on international law and human conscience.

A Call to the International Public and Civil Society

Enough is enough! Only in Germany are LGBTQ+ refugees from Turkey humiliated, ignored, and threatened with deportation at this level. This is clearly anti-Turkish hostility and a practice of hate.

To all human rights organizations, LGBTQ+ groups, media outlets, and people of conscience:

Do not remain silent about BAMF’s violence in Germany!
This institution must be exposed. Its decisions must be brought to international attention and documented. That Germany continues to uphold such a heartless structure is a disgrace.

You will be held accountable!

Those behind the scenes at BAMF who make these cruel decisions will one day stand trial. For the traumas, the deaths, the deportations, the suicides — this institution must be condemned under international law.

We, the international press, will not remain silent. We will speak the truth. We will expose. We will shame them.

Because it is our duty to reveal the truth and be the voice of the victims.