Honeymoon pair kicked out of USA ‘as groom is a Muslim’
A BRIDE and her Muslim groom’s honeymoon turned into a nightmare when they were locked up at the airport and sent back home with no explanation.
Natasha Politakis, 29, and Ali Gul, 32, spent £7,000 on a two-week trip to LA, Hawaii and Las Vegas, but never made it beyond the airport passport control desk.
The couple claim they were treated ‘ like criminals’, detained by border police for 26 hours before Mr Gul’s visa was revoked and they were flown back to the UK.
They insist they had all the necessary documentation and the only reason they can think of for their treatment was Mr Gul’s religion.
Despite the ordeal, the newlyweds managed to book an alternative last minute holiday – but they have been left out of pocket for the honeymoon and have struggled to meet with officials at the US Embassy to take their complaint further.
The couple from Enfield, North London, believe they were victims of President Donald Trump’s Muslim clampdown on visitors to the United States.
Ms Politakis said: ‘I am in utter shock that this has happened. We had just got married, we were on our way to our honeymoon as excited as anything and never expected that we would be deported. We were treated like criminals and we had all the relevant documentation and answered all their questions. It’s not okay to treat people like that. ‘As far as we knew before we left everything was fine, but as soon as we got there they wouldn’t let us in. We believe since Trump was elected, they took one look at his name, thought he was Muslim and didn’t let him in.’
Although Mr Gul, an estate agent, was born in Turkey he has a British passport, as does his wife. However, there had been a problem when his business partner applied for an Esta – a document required by all British citizens visiting the US – for the groom and seven friends to go to Las Vegas for a stag party. ‘All of them were rejected and we were told we had to individually have appointments to appeal,’ Mr Gul said. He duly went for his appointment and he was given a ten-year visa in April to allow him to go ahead with the honeymoon plans. He said: ‘I didn’t ask for the ten-year visa, I just wanted to go on this holiday but I assumed it was the right one.’ However, after arriving at Los Angeles International Airport the couple were taken to one side after handing in their passports for inspection. Miss Politakis said: ‘They stuck us in this detention centre in the airport, stripped us of all our possessions and didn’t let us shower, get a coffee or change our clothes for 26 hours. ‘We had absolutely no idea what was going on. When I tried to find out they put handcuffs on us. After 26 hours they refused us entry into the country and escorted us onto the next flight home. ‘They even told the air stewardess we weren’t allowed our phones back until we landed in the UK.’ A US Embassy spokesman said: ‘The religion, faith, or spiritual beliefs of an international traveller are not determining factors about his or her admissibility into the US. He said that there were ‘more than 60 grounds of inadmissibility’ that could lead to people being denied entry, including health and security reasons.
‘We were treated like criminals’