Albania deports Gülen follower at Turkey’s request despite court rejection of extradition


Date posted: January 3, 2020

Albanian authorities on Wednesday deported Harun Çelik, a Turkish teacher at a school affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement in Albania, to Turkey despite a court order releasing him from his five-month incarceration over an extradition request from Ankara.

Çelik, 41, was reportedly arrested five months ago at Turkey’s request, but the court denied the extradition.

According to Bold Medya, Çelik was released from prison on Wednesday evening, when the Albanian police picked him up for transport to Tirana’s Rinas International Airport.

He had applied for asylum in the country five months ago, but officials have not yet proceeded with the request, the report said.

Turkey had previously been able to bring Gülen-affiliated individuals back home without official extradition processes in Kosovo and Moldova.

Turkish officials claim more than 100 Gülen followers have been brought back to the country since a failed 2016 coup.

Ankara accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating the coup, although it strongly denies any involvement.

Source: Turkish Minute , January 1, 2020

Tags: | | | | | |


Related News

Is Erdogan’s smile worth more than the tears of Pak-Turk students?

Around 400 Turks living in Pakistan have been ordered by the Pakistani government to leave in next three days. Isn’t it deplorable that the government has to do so only to bring a radiant smile on Erdogan’s face? Is Erdogan’s smile worth more than the tears of Pak-Turk students?

Twitter users protest plan to close prep schools in Turkey

Turkish Twitter users are in an uproar over a report that the government has drafted a law which would close thousands of private preparatory education centres (known as “dershanes”) across the country. The schools are reportedly a point of tension between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government and the Gülen movement that runs many of the schools.

Students from 135 countries to join Turkish Olympiads this year

İBRAHİM ASALIOĞLU, ANKARA Foreign students from 135 countries will attend the 10th International Turkish Olympiads, which brings together hundreds of foreign students each year from Turkish schools established throughout the world. A total of 1,500 students will compete at this year’s Olympiads, organized by the International Turkish Education Association (TÜRKÇEDER), in singing and poetry recitation […]

Ottawa urged to expedite residency process for those fleeing oppression in Turkey

Human rights advocate Renée Vaugeois wrote a letter asking Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen to expedite the Edmonton man’s residency application. She thinks that this is a targeted war on a specific group of people in Turkey and to her that speaks to genocide.

Developing Ghana; the role of Tudec and Galaxy İnt’l School

More Turkish investors have expressed their interest to invest in education, the real estate, construction and manufacturing sectors in Ghana. The President of the Ghana-Turkey Cooperation and Development Association (TUDEC), Mr Yusuf Temizkan, says prospective investors would be arriving in the country within the year to inject their capital into the country’s economy. He said […]

Mongolia’s Elite Schools sponsor reading halls at pediatric hospital

The Turkish-initiated Elite International Schools in Mongolia provided a state pediatric hospital at the capital city Ulaanbaatar with new reading halls for its young residents. At the ribbon cutting ceremony were the schools’ officials, students and hospital authorities along with the local press.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Pak-Turk schools case: IHC grants more time to seek govt’s instructions

Bringing Peace While Breaking Fasts

Fethullah Gülen is a Chance for Humanity: His Inclusive Perspective for Sustainable Global Triangulation

Nigerien Deputy Ministers examine Turkish Education System

PM Basindawa opens new campus of Turkish-Yemeni School

Parents dream of their children being admitted to Turkish schools in Senegal

‘Democracy’s Challenge with Turkey’ debated in Abant Platform

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News