The Independent: Turkish men ‘face torture’ after being extradited from Malaysia as post-coup crackdown continues

Tayyip Erdogan has called on countries around the world to find and deport Gulen supporters
Tayyip Erdogan has called on countries around the world to find and deport Gulen supporters


Date posted: May 12, 2017

Lizzie Dearden

Three Turkish men including a school principal are at risk of torture after being “abducted” and extradited from Malaysia, human rights groups have warned.

International school headteacher Turgay Karaman, academic Ismet Ozcelik and businessman Ihsan Aslan are believed to have been targeted over suspected links to a US-based cleric accused of leading an attempted coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

His government has been attempting to round up Fethullah Gulen’s supporters around the world, while investigating more than 150,000 people in an ongoing crackdown that has generated international alarm.

Mr Gulen has denied any link to the coup, while international authorities have found no evidence for Turkey’s claims or its designation of the movement as a terrorist organisation.

But purges have shown no sign of slowing, with the online editor of a leading opposition newspaper among fresh suspects including dozens of former Istanbul stock exchange traders arrested on Friday.

The three Turkish men detained in Malaysia were deported without warning overnight despite pleas from their families for authorities either to free them, allow them to leave for another country or grant them a fair trial in Malaysia.

Officials in Kuala Lumpur had released contradictory statements after claiming Mr Karaman and Mr Aslan had been arrested for offences related to national security.

CCTV shows Turkish school principal being ‘abducted’
Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister told media they were suspected of links to Isis but police chief Khalid Abu Bakar later confirmed the operation was over alleged ties to the Gulenist movement.

He said the men had also technically become illegal immigrants because Turkey had cancelled their passports.

Amnesty International’s deputy south-east Asia director, Josef Benedict, said the trio had been “arbitrarily detained”, adding: “By sending these three men suspected of links to Fethullah Gülen back to Turkey, the Malaysian authorities have put their liberty and well-being at risk.

“They have already suffered a harrowing ordeal, being arbitrarily detained and held incommunicado.

“Now, they have been extradited to Turkey, where they could face arbitrary detention, unfair trial and a real risk of torture.”

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, attacked the Malaysian government for using false allegations of Isis links to detain the suspects without trial.

“The Malaysian government’s duplicity and crass abuse of the rights of these three men really sets this case apart,” he added.

“Done in the middle of the night, with no notification to their families, Malaysia sent these three men to face a possible risk of torture and prolonged pre-trial detention, followed by a court trial that will likely fail to meet fair trial standards.”

The deportation of former university trustee Mr Ozcelik, who had person of concern status with the UN refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur, was a violation of international human rights, he said.

Rosli Dahlan, a lawyer representing Mr Ozcelik and Mr Karaman, said relatives were “shocked and deeply hurt” by the deportations, which came without notice.

“They continue to fear for the safety of Ismet Ozcelik and Turgay Karaman who may face the same fate as [two other Turkish men] who were illegally removed from Malaysia and subjected to rendition to Turkey, who until today are still detained in a Turkish prison without trial,” he told The Independent.

Relatives said both men had entered Malaysia legally and held valid visas, adding that they had committed no criminal offences either there or in Turkey and that there was “no basis” for allegations of terrorist links.

“They are merely academicians trying to build a life in a country they deemed safe and peaceful and would not submit to any political ploy or pressure,” a joint statement read.

Mr Karaman and Mr Aslan went missing on 2 May and were initially feared to have been abducted before police confirmed they had been detained. Two days later, academic Ismet Ozcelik was held.

He was already under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian court system over an unrelated charge of obstructing a public officer, having left Turkey after being fired from his university following July’s coup.

Mr Ozcelik was arrested in Kuala Lumpur for allegedly resisting immigration officers who attempted to take away his passport, after receiving a letter from the Turkish embassy linking Mr Ozcelik with the Gulen movement.

Wife appeals for husband’s return after ‘arrest’ in Malaysia 
He had been visiting his son Suheyl, a teacher at the Time International School headed by Mr Karaman, who was among the witnesses called for his defence.

The principal was detained by plainclothes officers in an underground car park the day before the case was due to start, being bundled into a car as he made his way to attend a legal meeting.

“He is a gentleman and never hurt anyone,” Mr Karaman’s wife said in an emotional appeal.

Meanwhile in Turkey, there was fresh alarm over the arrest of Oguz Guven, the editor of pro-secular Cumhuriyet newspaper’s online edition.

Authorities also detained a writer and television commentator days after he claimed one of the adopted daughters of Turkey’s revered founding leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was in fact his mistress – sparking outrage in the country.

More than 50 employees of the Istanbul stock exchange were additionally arrested over alleged links to the Gulen movement, after prosecutors ordered the detention of 102 people including former teachers at schools that were closed after the coup.

About 145,000 civil servants, judges, prosecutors, security personnel and academics have also been suspended or sacked as part of a the purge.

Turkey has applied pressure to countries around the world that are home to institutions backed by Mr Gulen, whose movement runs about 2,000 educational establishments in around 160 countries.

Source: Independent , May 12, 2017


Related News

VIDEO – Was July 15 Erdogan’s Reichstag Fire?

What really happened on the night of July 15, 2016 in Turkey? Why thousands of judges and prosecutors were the next day? Why hundreds of journalists were arrested and media outlets shut down after the coup attempt by Erdogan? Was the failed coup attempt Erdogan’s Reichstag Fire?

Yamanlar Koleji crowns Turkey with second gold medal

Furkan Bahar, a student from Yamanlar Koleji, a private high school in İzmir, has won a gold medal at the 46th International Chemistry Olympiad (IChO) held in Hanoi, Vietnam between July 20 and 28. IChO welcomed representatives from 77 countries. Bahar, a member of the national chemistry team appointed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), became the winner of Turkey’s only gold medal in the competition.

ESİDEF: Targets doubled despite intimidation

Federation of the Aegean and Mediterranean Industrialists and Businesspeople (ESİDEF) President Mustafa Çelik said anti-democratic rhetoric and intimidating speeches against the business world in Turkey have motivated them to double their targets.

A Different Kind of Coup? Why You Should Care About A “Reclusive” Turkish Imam in Pennsylvania

We should consider not only what people say about Fethullah Gülen, but what he says himself. Decades of speeches and publications make this possible and reveal certain attributes. For example, Gülen advocates a form of Sufi humanism. He seeks collaborative relationships across religious, cultural, and national borders. He is concerned about the poor and marginalized around the world.

Romania denies extradition request for Turkish teacher over Gülen links

A Romanian judge on Wednesday rejected a Turkish request for the extradition of a 24-year-old teacher arrested by police and sought by the authorities in Ankara over links to the faith-based Gülen movement.

Police detain Bursa woman on coup charges a day after giving birth

Elif Aslaner, a religious education teacher who gave birth on Wednesday at a private hospital in Bursa, was detained due to her alleged links to Turkey’s Gülen group on Friday. Aslaner’s husband said his wife had preeclampsia and suffered from convulsions when she gave birth to her first baby and remained in a coma for two days.

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Turkey’s fight against Gülen in the South Caucasus

Parents seeking urgent Release of School Principle Fatih Keskin

Foes on the Run as Erdogan Makes Power Personal

London newspaper forced to shut as Erdogan allies seek vengeance

Erdogan’s Muslim spies: Turkish imams snooping on Merkel’s Germany for President

Foreign Policy’s emotional and biased journalism on Turkey

Erdoğan rewards the killers of Gülenists

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News