Couple on their way to £7,000 Hawaii honeymoon are instead locked in Los Angeles airport detention then sent back to England 'because the bridegroom is a Muslim'
- Newlyweds' honeymoon ruined after they are thrown into detention centre in LA
- Natasha Politakis, 29, and husband saved up £7,000 for dream Hawaiian holiday
- But were 'treated like criminals' at US airport and sent on flight back to the UK
- Ms Politakis said she believes it was because her British husband is Muslim
Natasha Politakis, 29, said she and husband Ali Gul were treated like 'criminals'
A British couple say they were treated like criminals when they were locked up for 26 hours after arriving at Los Angeles airport then booted out of the country without explanation.
Natasha Politakis, 29, and husband Ali Gul were due to fly to Hawaii after saving £7,000 up for a romantic getaway to celebrate the beginning of their marriage.
But instead the pair were thrown into a detention centre without explanation before being sent on a flight back to England.
Upset and embarrassed, Ms Politakis said she believed the treatment was because her partner - a successful estate agent from Enfield in London - is Muslim and has Turkish heritage.
The nightmare began when they arrived at the American airport to begin what they hoped would be a day they would never forget.
They were told they would need to be interviewed for 'five minutes' but were instead detained for more than a day before being flown back to the UK - despite having already booked and paid for a trip to Hawaii and arranged necessary visas.
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.'
Staying positive: The couple managed to book a last-minute trip to Mexico after the US refused to let them go on their already-paid £7,000 dream honeymoon in Hawaii
Just married: The pair, from Enfield in London, had recently become husband and wife and wanted to celebrate with a five-star trip
She said: '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. We are so shocked at how we were treated.'
The couple were refused a shower and had their possessions confiscated for the entire period of their detention and were only given their phones back once they were on UK soil.
When they tried to find out why they were detained, authorities handcuffed them before escorting them onto a flight back to London.
Ms Politakis said: 'As we were going through immigration in LA, they looked at our passports and asked us to go into a side room to answer some questions.
'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.
Ms Politakis said: 'We had absolutely no idea what was going on. When I tried to find out they put handcuffs on us'
Visa approved: Ali Gul, 32, had prepared in advance for his honeymoon to the US but was bitterly disappointed to be turned away from the country without explanation
Ms Politakis said: '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.
The couple from Enfield, north London, had two weddings earlier this year, a registrar wedding in April for Ali's Turkish family and then a big church wedding with a reception at a hotel on May 6
'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.'
The couple from Enfield, north London, had two weddings earlier this year, a registrar wedding in April for Ali's Turkish family and then a big church wedding with a reception at the Mariott on May 6.
Two weeks later they jet off on their honeymoon and now have stamps in their visa stating they were 'refused in accordance with INA section 217'.
Mr Gul, an estate agent, holds a British passport but his business partner attempted to apply for eight Estas, American tourist visas, for his stag-do but all were rejected.
He said: 'My business partner and mates wanted to go to Vegas for my stag do so applied for a group-Esta booking.
'All of them were rejected and we were told we had to individually have appointments to appeal. On the 1st of February I went in and spent seven hours running through our plans to get to the country.
'In March they said that I had been approved and I needed to bring my passport in to get stamped, and then at the beginning of April I'd been given a ten year visa.
'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.'
The pair have been left £7,000 out of pocket for a honeymoon they were never allowed on and were told if they wanted to complain they would have to contact the US Embassy, but have struggled to get an appointment.
Ms Politakis, who managed to book a last minute holiday to Mexico, said: 'We're trying to get the money back through our insurance but it never should have happened in the first place.
'All we want is answers as to why our entire trip was ruined.'
The US Embassy has been contacted for comment.
Despite being born in Turkey, Ali was travelling on a legitimate British Passport, and has never had any problems going abroad before.
He said: 'The guy at passport control was a nice guy, he asked some questions and we said we were there for a honeymoon, we had a connection flight to Honolulu.
'I told him we were to spend six nights there, three in LA and then off to Vegas for four nights.
'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.
'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.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Gul explained that his best man applied for a group Esta – a 90 day US holiday visa – for him and eight friends to go on his stag party to Las Vegas.
The Esta was rejected, without an explanation why, from the Embassy.
Mr Gul made an appointment with the US Embassy and says he applied for an Esta.
He said he told the official he was going on honeymoon to Hawaii and required a 90-day holiday Esta.
But instead he was given a 10-year business visa.
Mr Gul and his bride Natasha were stopped and questioned for 50 minutes by US border control at Heathrow Airport.
He told them he was going on honeymoon and was told he had been given clearance to travel.
But when he got to Los Angeles him and Natasha were taken to separate rooms and interrogated by border control officials.
He said he showed them his hotel booking forms and any other proof he had that he was travelling to Hawaii on his honeymoon.
But US officials said he could not enter the country and sent him back to the UK.
He said Natasha’s passport is stamped that her visa was rejected in accordance with INA section 217.
Mr Gul says he was given no explanation.
He went on a stag do to Mexico. Ms Politakis's hen do was in Dubai.
While he was in detention he said they were stuck in a room for hours and weren't allowed to leave.
He said: 'They took our phones away from us and when we asked what happened they would say 'OK British' and ignore us.
'Even if I tried to reason with them to find out why we were stuck here they got annoyed and put handcuffs on us.
'Finally after 26 hours they just told us we were getting on the next flight home.
He added: 'They escorted us to the gate and told the air stewardess we weren't allowed our phones until we were back on British soil. Our relatives were hysterical that they hadn't heard from us for so long.'
Speaking to MailOnline Ms Politakis' mother Sue said she was left sick with worry after her daughter managed to call her after being held in a room at the airport for 26 hours.
She said: 'I couldn't eat or drink, I was so worried about them. The airport officials took their phones off of them and were going through their pictures pointing at people with beards, asking where they were from.
One of the people pointed out was her son - Mr Gul's brother-in-law.
She said: 'He has a beard because it's fashionable, not for any religious reason. It was just horrible.'
Mrs Politakis said: 'I wouldn't want another young couple to go through what they went through, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.'
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