Three detained men of Turkish citizenship have been deported to back to Ankara, Malaysian officials have confirmed. Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar told the public in a tweet this morning that Turgay Karaman, Ismet Ozcelik and Ihsan Aslan had indeed been returned. Last night, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had hinted that their removal was eminent.
International rights groups, friends and family are concerned for the men’s safety upon return to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. Since increasing his powers at home, Turkish dissidents abroad have been nervously watching from afar.
The safety those opposed to the Turkish government in Malaysia has been thrown into question. This would not be the first case of Malaysia detaining outspoken critics, and repatriating them back to Ankara.
Although Karaman’s police report specifically stated that his friends worried for his safety should he be returned to Turkey, where he will surely “be tortured, and killed,” the Malaysian government remained unmoved. Free Malaysia Today quoted Deputy PM Zahid as saying that Malaysia would not entertain the families’ appeals as the matter was not Putrajaya’s responsibility.
The three men were detained and held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) last week before being deported. Malaysian police did not elaborate on their crimes committed against Malaysia. However, they cited cybersecurity as a threat and reason for the men’s removal.
Their disappearance came into the public forum when CCTV footage of Karaman being forcibly led by plain-clothes men through a Damansara Heights parking lot was leaked to YouTube. Bukit Aman then clarified that the men had been arrested and not kidnapped, as had been feared.
NGO group, Lawyers for Liberty, has highlighted that Putrajaya’s actions go against international customary law. Eric Paulsen, their Executive Director, has pointed out the men were likely part of an ongoing, and global crackdown on the Fethullah Gülen movement. Some are saying the cooperation and rendition is diplomatic appeasement to ease relations between the two nations.
According to Turkish Minute, the Turkish embassy in Kuala Lumpur had asked Malaysian authorities to close down schools and other entities which are run by Turkish citizens linked to the Gülen Movement. The movement is named after exiled leader, preacher Fethullah Gülen. Besides being accused of being a secretive Islamic sect with a “cultish hierarchy”, he’s also said to dabbled in matters of “global, apocalyptic ambition”.
Fethullah Gülen is a 70-something, who has been exiled to Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Population: 1,126.
CCTV video below:
