British newlyweds Natasha Politakis and Ali Gul were shocked after their dream USA honeymoon came to a screeching halt, with authorities putting the duo back on a plane to London, reportedly without an explanation.
Ms Politakis and Mr Gul, aged 29 and 32 respectively, had spent close to AU$10,000 on their post-wedding getaway to Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Las Vegas in May, only to spend 26 hours in an airport detention facility, where they said they were treated “like criminals”.
Now, they claim the ordeal was entirely due to Mr Gul’s Turkish Origin.
“I am in utter shock that this has happened,” Ms Politakis told The Sun this week.
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“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,” she said. “We were treated like criminals and we had all the relevant documentation and answered all their questions.”
The couple say authorities decided they would not let them in upon looking at Mr Gul’s name and background, ultimately assuming that he was Muslim. During their “interview” process, the pair also claim they were refused a shower and were stripped of their phones and possessions.
“It’s not okay to treat people like that,” Ms Politakis said.
“They even told the air stewardess we weren’t allowed our phones back until we landed in the UK… Finally when we landed back in the UK on the May 24 we were allowed to speak to our families and they were in absolute hysterics having not heard from us in two days.”
While a spokesperson from the US Embassy told the tabloid, “US Customs and Border Protection welcomes more than a million passengers arriving to the United States every day", it remains unclear why the pair were denied entry into the country.
“In order to demonstrate that they are admissible, the applicant must overcome ALL [60] grounds of inadmissibility," the spokesperson continued.
Now, the pair face the tricky task of getting their £7,000 refunded.
“All we want is answers as to why our entire trip was ruined.”