Two Turkish mothers who were jailed for six months for using forged passports - resulting in their young sons being placed in State care - have filed an appeal against the “disproportionate and excessive” punishment.

The women, who are in the process of applying for asylum, will soon be applying for bail in the hope to be reunited with their sons - age two and four, explained their lawyers Gianluca Cappitta and Jason Grima.

In the appeal, filed on Monday, the lawyers argued that the punishment was excessive in the circumstances.

They said the women, Rabia Yavuz, 27, and Muzekka Deneri, 29, belonged to the Gulen movement - blamed for the 2016 failed coup on the Turkish government -  and fled their country to avoid harsh consequences to their political beliefs.

Apart from that, they had two young children who had no other family connections in Malta.

“The appellants are not criminals… they are in need of the protection of the State," the lawyers wrote in their appeal.

"In these circumstances, a six-month jail term  was of no benefit and goes against the reformative aspect of our justice system," they continued.

They also noted that the women, who started the process to apply for refugee status. were covered under the Genova Convention, of which Malta was a signatory.

The Convention states: “Contracting States shall not impose penalties, on account of their illegal entry or presence, on refugees who, coming directly from a territory where their life or freedom was threatened.”

Last week Yavuz and Deneri admitted to using forged travel papers as they sought to avoid repatriation to Turkey, after having fled in the attempted coup d’etat of 2016.

Their two boys were heard wailing outside the courtroom as their mothers were jailed for six months on pleading guilty.

The magistrate heard that the women, both teachers, were arrested at the airport on Monday last week, travelling from Greece to Belgium via Malta. 

They presented false French and Italian identity cards and one of them also had two illegal Romanian cards.

While not wishing to give details, for the boys’ safety, Appoġġ’s director of child protection services, Steve Libreri said they were placed in alternative care after their mothers agreed to hand them over to the state until they served their time. 

What does the law say?

The women were charged with using forged passports under three chapters of the law: the Criminal Code, the Passport Ordinance and the Immigration Act. 

According to the Criminal Code and the Passport Ordinance anyone found guilty of making use of such forged comments is liable to imprisonment for a term from six months minimum to two years. According to the Immigration Act the punishment can be a fine (maximum €11,647) or a maximum two-year jail term.

The judgment was criticised as being “inhumane and unjust” by NGO Moviment Graffitti, which said the courts could have chosen a community-based sanction. Meanwhile, the Maltese Association of Social Workers said it was "appalled" by the judgment.

Lawyer Etienne Calleja told Times of Malta the law does not exclude the courts from applying a suspended jail term, conditional discharge or even probation.

Calleja noted that in a recent case, in February this year, Brazilian Carlos Vilmar Da Silva Rodrigues was given a one year jail term suspended for four years for making use of forged documents.

The court noted the circumstances, the early guilty plea and the cooperation with police.

Why flee Turkey?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, centre, attends a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of a failed coup on July 15, 2021. Photo: AFP

Turkey witnessed the bloodiest coup attempt in its political history on July 15, 2016, when a section of the Turkish military launched a coordinated operation in several major cities to topple the government and unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Turkish government blames the failed coup attempt on Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher and businessman who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999.

Turkey wants his extradition.

The Hizmet movement, led by Gulen, has been branded a "terrorist" organisation by Erdogan.

Over the years Erdogan carried out a sweeping purge of State institutions after the plot, sacking or suspending more than 100,000 public sector employees, including teachers and judges, who were accused of links to Gulen.

There have been many trials of alleged plotters and courts have issued more than 2,500 life sentences.