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

Who is Behind the Pennsylvania Protests?

Fethullah Gulen had suggested that the protestors should be listened to and not be treated harshly. This was an expression to show that the people’s voice and requests at Gezi should not be rejected.

US intel director: Turkish purge impeding fight against ‘Islamic State’

Turkey’s purge has removed military officers who’d been key figures in the US-led fight against the so-called “Islamic State,” says US intelligence head James Clapper. He called it a setback in US-Turkish cooperation.

Journalist Karaca sentenced to 31 years for slandering al-Qaeda-affiliated group

Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca has been sentenced to 31 years in prison by an Istanbul court on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and for allegedly slandering the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Tahşiyeciler.

For first time, Fethullah Gülen curses purge of police officials in emotional speech

Fethullah Gülen has cursed those responsible for a purge of police officials involved in a corruption investigation. Turkish PM Tayyip Erdoğan has called the detention of scores of people seen as close to the government a “dirty operation” aimed at undermining his rule. Erdoğan has refrained from naming Gülen as the hand behind the investigation and he referred to an “illegal gang within the state” and systematically purged officials, including journalists in public broadcasters.

A warning from and for a troubled land – how easily a democracy can be dismantled

Recently a messenger came to Colorado with dark warnings from a troubled land: Abdulhamit Bilici, the former editor-in-chief of Zaman, Turkey’s go-to newspaper before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s brutal crackdown. You don’t often meet people like Abdulhamit Bilici in the United States. You almost can’t believe that someone with his backstory sits before you.

Fethullah Gülen’s Statement on Notre-Dame Cathedral Fire

I believe that the people of France will reconstruct this historic building and fully restore its magnificence. I extend my condolences to the French President Emmanuel Macron, Archbishop Michel Aupetit, the rector Patrick Jacquin, ministers of Notre Dame Cathedral, and the people of France. I invite everyone to support the efforts to reconstruct this beautiful Cathedral.

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

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

MHP: Gov’t should not harass its citizens who open Turkish schools abroad

Gülen’s lawyers file civil suit and criminal complaints against Prime Minister Davutoğlu

Hizmet Movement blog now available in Portuguese and Arabic

Turkish gov’t profiling went on until 2013, report claims

Human Rights Watch: People being tortured, abducted in post-coup Turkey

Hizmet and March 30 elections: What happened? (I)

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News