Alliance for Shared Values Statement on Detention of Turkish Nationals in Kosovo and Their Imminent Transfer to Turkey


Date posted: March 29, 2018

March 29, 2018 – The Alliance for Shared Values denounces the detention of six Turkish nationals in Kosovo on Thursday morning as a result of demands from the Turkish government. This is the latest incident in which the Recep Tayyip Erdogan regime has targeted innocent individuals solely based on affiliation with the Hizmet movement.

The Turkish nationals who were detained are Mustafa Erdem, Yusuf Karabina, Kahraman Demirez, Cihan Ozkan, Hasan Huseyin Gunakan, and Prof. Osman Karakaya. These individuals have legal residence or working permits in Kosovo but are detained for working at educational institutions targeted by the Turkish government. Media reports suggest that they are currently being held in Pristina airport and are risking illegal transfer to Turkey.

Kosovo had previously detained another Turkish national, Ugur Toksoy, but a Kosovar court suspended the extradition process due to lack of material evidence. We are deeply concerned for further detentions by the Kosovar police. The Turkish government is targeting other Hizmet movement participants abroad, and UN sources indicate that 200 more Hizmet participants in Kosovo are among those to be detained. The detainees risk extradition to Turkey, where any critic is persecuted and jailed with no justifiable indictment. International human rights organizations such as Amnesty International have reported on their inhumane treatment in Turkish prisons including ill-treatment, overcrowding, torture, and rape. Rule of law no longer exists in Turkey as the Erdogan regime goes to great lengths to repress any opposition through an ongoing systematic campaign to persecute thousands of innocent individuals including teachers, academics, and doctors.

We urge the Kosovo government to immediately halt these detentions of innocent people and prevent their extradition to Turkey, where they would face torture, ill-treatment and risk to their lives. We also urge the UNHCR and international institutions to take action against Erdogan’s extrajudicial efforts outside of Turkey.

 

Source: Alliance for Shared Values , March 29, 2018

Tags: | | | | | |


Related News

Turkish-American community grapples with Turkey coup’s aftermath

Dr. Gokcek said he is not optimistic. He is fearful about the growing tensions in the country and coup sympathizers who might be stigmatized as traitors. On a basic level, Gokcek said, he has been able to sit down and eat with other Turkish-Americans with whom he might not always agree. “Some of those friends, I might not be able to now,” he said.

Unimpressed by Turkish ‘parallel structure’ defense, MEPs approve critical report

A EP committee has approved a report on Turkey that criticizes the government’s handling of a corruption investigation, despite a last-minute letter from the Turkish government claiming that a set of controversial measures taken in the wake of the probe were designed to fight a “parallel structure” within the state.

How Christians conspired Christian murders in Turkey

Last Wednesday, my Twitter followers attracted my attention to a “news piece.” The “news” was in Aksam daily, one of the semi-official newspapers of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). When I looked at it, I immediately saw my name and other words, such as “Zirve murder,” “parallel structure” and so on in its headline at the top of the paper.

Two Turkish TV producers detained as operation against media starts

Turkish police have reportedly detained two producers from Samanyolu TV in the first wave of what was said to be a large-scale operation against the media across Turkey.

Unity in diversity

Culture and language can help in bridging divisions on the lines of region, religion, language, ethnicity etc. This is what the International Festival of Language and Culture (IFLC) has been doing this since 2003 by showcasing music and dance from across different countries in Turkey annually.

Draft law on prep schools

The first adverse effect is related to unemployment. The AKP did not keep its promise to provide jobs at public institutions to all the prep school teachers who are not hired by the new private schools. Only teachers with six years of experience will have the chance of being hired at public schools. Thus, tens of thousands of prep school teachers will definitely lose their jobs since only the large, well-established prep schools can take the financial risks of re-establishing themselves as a new private school.

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

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to Pakistan with food assistance

Another ‘coup suspect’ found dead in Turkish prison, bringing total to 21

AK Party gov’t searches for scapegoat for stalled PKK talks

Bank Asya answers smear campaign

Nigeria: Hizmet Movement not terrorists

Islamists’ xenophobic policies threaten Turkey

Report: Gülen-linked media outlets sold to pro-gov’t media groups without tender

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News