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British honeymoon couple sent back from the US because ‘the groom is a Muslim’

A couple on their way to a £7,000 honeymoon in the US claim they were sent home because the groom is a Muslim.

Natasha Politakis, 29, and Ali Gul, 32, say they were denied entry to the US after flying there for a two-week trip to Los Angeles, Hawaii and Las Vegas.

The couple, from Enfield in north London, were put on a flight home after spending 26 hours locked up in an airport detention centre.

They said they were ‘treated like criminals’ despite having the correct travel documents and were not told the reason they were refused entry to the US.

They believe their treatment is a result of Donald Trump’s recent attempts to ban citizens from mainly Muslim nations.

‘I am in utter shock that this has happened,’ said Ms Politakis.

‘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.

Natasha Politakis and Ali Gul on their wedding day (Picture: SWNS)
Natasha Politakis and Ali Gul on their wedding day (Picture: SWNS)

‘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 Ali’s name, thought he was Muslim and didn’t let him in. We are so shocked at how we were treated.’

Mr Gul is of Turkish origin but has a British passport. He was pulled aside on arrival in LAX airport after staff examined the couple’s passports.

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‘They stripped us of all our possessions and didn’t let us shower, get a coffee or change our clothes for 26 hours,’ said Ms Politakis.

‘We had absolutely no idea what was going on. When I tried to find out, they put handcuffs on us.’

The couple were only given back their smartphones when they returned to the UK.

The pair managed to book a last-minute trip to Mexico for a replacement honeymoon, but are trying to reclaim the £7,000 they spent on their planned US tour.

Mr Gul said he spent seven hours at the US embassy in London organising his travel documents before the trip, after having a previous issue when applying for an Esta tourist visa to go to Las Vegas for his stag do.

A stamp on Ali Gul's passport refusing him entry into the US (Picture: SWNS)
A stamp on Ali Gul’s passport refusing him entry into the US (Picture: SWNS)

He was issued with a different visa that was supposed to be valid for 10 years by the embassy, but was still stopped on arrival in LA.

The couple were told they would only be questioned for five minutes but were kept in a detention room for 26 hours.

They were then handcuffed and escorted back to a Heathrow-bound plane – without ever leaving LAX.

Mr Gul said: ‘When we arrived at passport control in the US, the officer said they needed to ask us some questions and it’ll take five minutes.

‘I had all the confirmation documents but they didn’t really care, all they cared about what was that something on their system wouldn’t let us through.

The couple managed to book a last minute honeymoon to Mexico (Picture: SWNS)
The couple managed to book a last minute honeymoon to Mexico (Picture: SWNS)

‘We asked why they were keeping us in the detention room at LAX, but they kept saying it would be a 5 minute security check.

‘But we waited and waited and nothing happened we were just sat in this room, we weren’t allowed to go outside, have a shower, change our clothes or grab a coffee.

‘They took our phones away from us and when we asked what happened they would say “OK British” and ignore us.’

The couple had two wedding ceremonies earlier this year – a registrar wedding in April and then a church wedding on May 6, before heading off for what they thought would be their dream honeymoon two weeks later.

The US embassy said the ‘religion, faith, or spiritual beliefs of an international traveler are not determining factors about his/her admissibility into the US’.