Protests have taken place in Sweden, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Kyrgyzstan, and the UK over the alleged enforced disappearance of Turkish teacher Orhan Inandi.
Inandi is the founder of a network of educational institutions in Kyrgyzstan and was accused by the Turkish government in 2019 of being linked to the Gulen movement. He is the founder and board member of Sapat Educational Institutions, a network of schools in Kyrgyzstan. He has lived and worked in the country since 1995, gaining citizenship in 2012.
He is believed to have been kidnapped on May 31. His car was found in the early hours of June 1, with the doors open and with nothing missing. The police opened an investigation but they have not found any information so far.
Inandi’s wife, Reyhan said she believes her husband is being held at the Turkish Embassy in Kyrgyzstan and has been tortured into revoking his second citizenship.
The country’s deputy foreign affairs minister Aibek Artykbaev confirmed earlier this month that in 2019, the Turkish government had requested his extradition which they refused to agree due to his dual nationality.
The Gulen movement is linked to Turkish cleric and one-time ally of the Turkish government, Fethullah Gulen. Following the failed coup d’etat in 2016, President Recep Tayyip declared it a terrorist organization and cracked down on thousands of journalists, teachers, activists, and members of civil society. Many were accused of being terrorists due to their alleged links with the movement.
Furthermore, scores of people allegedly linked to the Gulen movement living outside of Turkey have been arbitrarily detained and forcibly returned to Turkey. There, they are incarcerated on bogus charges of terrorism, in violation of due process and their human rights.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has repeatedly called out Turkey for arbitrary deprivation of liberty and enforced disappearances.
In a joint letter UN rapporteurs accused the Turkish government of engaging in the systematic practice of state-sponsored extraterritorial abductions and forcible returns to Turkey, with at least 100 Turkish nationals from multiple states including Afghanistan, Albania, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Gabon, Kosovo, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon.
Recently, the nephew of Gulen who was living in Kenya was abducted by Turkish authorities and sent back to Turkey, according to Anadolu, the state-run news agency.
The UN has also called on Turkey to take prompt measures to establish his whereabouts and protect him from torture and inhuman treatment.
In Albania, several individuals have been arrested, extradited without due process, or held pending extradition at the behest of Turkish authorities. Furthermore, schools allegedly linked to Gulen have been raided by police, even without a court order, according to staff who were present.
Albania, a close ally of Turkey, has remained tight-lipped on the alleged extraterritorial abductions and has instead allowed Turkish foreign officials to urge them to hand over more Gulen members.
