Embassies Embark on Diplomatic Moves for the Release of Detained Sierra Leonean in Turkey

Immigration Hostel
Immigration Hostel


Date posted: November 3, 2016

The Sierra Leone Embassies in Abu Dhabi and Tehran are closely following the status of their national who was detained in the Turkish capital, Ankara on Tuesday, 18 October, 2016.

David Junusa, a Sierra Leonean national who lives and works in Ankara was detained at the Kavaklidere Police Station in Ankara when he showed up to renew his expired residency permit.

Junusa, married to a Turkish national, studied in Ankara and after graduation, he has been working as an English teacher in different Turkish schools. But for the past four years, he was working at the recently closed Turgut Ozal University which allegedly belonged to the “Gulen Movement” – a movement led by US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara blames for the July 15 failed coup attempt in Turkey.

The detained Sierra Leonean was recently quoted by a Freetown –based local tabloid that he had an appointment on the 18th October to extend his residency permit and upon arrival, the paper further quoted him: “I was arrested and sent to the prison cell. I was told it was a direct order given by the president, to arrest and deport all foreigners working for those universities that were closed down by the government, and mine is one of them.”

Sierra Leone has no resident Ambassador in Turkey. The Sierra Leone Mission in Tehran – the Islamic Republic of Iran was covering Turkey over the past few years, but the Eurasian nation was recently transferred to the Embassy of Sierra Leone in the United Arab Emirates.

Consul General based in Ankara to secure the release of the detained Sierra Leonean.

Ambassador Timbo is yet to present his Letters of Credence since Turkey was transferred to his Mission. But he was quick to say that, as a Sierra Leone Ambassador, the speedy release of his compatriot remained his top priority.

“I am not only concerned about the welfare of Sierra Leoneans living in my areas of accreditation,” adding that, “I am also concerned about all my compatriots living in any part of the world.”

The soft-spoken diplomat says, he and his colleague in Tehran, Ambassador Almamy Amara Kamara, in consultations with the Foreign Ministry in Freetown, will continue to work diligently with the Turkish authorities through diplomatic channels to secure the release of their detained compatriot.

Latest reports from Turkey say, David Junusa was on Thursday, 27th October, 2016 transferred from the Kavaklidere Police Station to an Immigration Hostel in the city of Izmir – a city on Turkey’s Aegean coast.

Source: The Salone Monitor , November 1, 2016


Related News

Who was behind the Turkish Coup: Sufi Islamic Scholar Fathullah Gülen or the Regime itself?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has bluntly blamed it on the Hizmet movement, Gülen’s initiative for intercultural and interfaith dialogue and education in the country expanding across the world today. But for many immensely impressed by Gülen’s global humanitarian, social and Islam-based peace activism, it remains an obscure question as to how the former ally of his country is now blamed for the coup.

Is it struggle between AK Party and Hizmet?

A prosecutor, Mr. Sadrettin Sarikaya, recently invited head of Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) for testimony that caused political controversy. Many journalists and politicians claimed that behind this was Fethullah Gulen. Mr Sarikaya’s accusation was that some intelligence agents that infiltrated the Kurdish terrorist group to provide intelligence were actually not performing their job, and moreover […]

That is Why the Turkish Government could Pay 1 Billion Euros

It seems that the bias of the Supreme Constitutional Court, the highest judicial body in Turkey, may force the Turkish government to pay a large sum of money, according to a prominent computer expert, who monitors erroneous decisions of the Constitutional Court on Internet applications used by Turkish citizens.

Turkey’s Crackdown Extends to Taipei

Burhan Cikili is an academic and vice-chair of the Formosa institute. The organization, which has a plush office on the 21st floor of a central Taipei office building, is something of a local think-tank linking Taiwan and Turkey. It holds conferences, seminars and lectures, and collaborates with local universities and institutions. It says it is mainly funded by local Taiwanese and Turkish businesspeople.

Prep schools and market rules

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government decided recently to close down preparatory schools, establishments that help Turkish students prepare for high school and college entrance exams. In a free market economy, whenever there is a demand for a good or service, its corresponding supply is created naturally; it’s that simple. However, the debate became furious and shifted into the political arena.

Why Gulen-sympathizers with their babies risk death to flee Erdogan regime

There is a reason why Turks risk death to flee with their babies. It’s not that they are looking for a better life. They are fleeing torture and life imprisonment.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Turkish Physicians heal Somali sufferers

Prof. Tures: Erdogan’s policies threaten Turkey

Turkish Cultural Center honours several Senegalese women

Terrorist organization seeks to fill void in Southeast after closure of prep schools

Gülen-inspired schools lead in university entrance exam results

Gülen calls for respect for the sacred, denounces terrorism

Prep school debate [in Turkey] continues

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News