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Send A Letter to Stop Abductions of Erdogan Regime

Sample letter to send international organizations to stop abductions carried out by authoritarian Erdogan regime in Turkey and abroad is below.

Dear ………………….,
I would like to share my deep concern about the prevalent abduction cases conducted globally by Turkish authorities under the Erdogan regime. Below please find detailed information about the issue and a link to a report on the abduction cases released by
Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST). I’d appreciate your concern and support regarding this dire human rights violation.

Since July 2016, the Turkish government went on to imprison hundreds of thousands of homemakers, mothers, children, babies, teachers, NGO workers, academics, judges, prosecutors, journalists and countless other victims. Erdoğan declared a “witch-hunt” against Gülen’s followers, attempting to convince countries through carrot and stick policies or more diplomatic means to join his personal fight and do the same to the Hizmet members within their borders.

Unfortunately, in some countries, the local intelligence agencies cooperated to seize Gülen followers, while in some others, Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency (MİT) didn’t even need to ask for permission to stage an operation. Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Cyprus, Gabon, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine are some of these countries.

Although ascertaining the exact number is not easy, AST has put together a List of Abduction Report, which includes: names, professions, date of disappearances, place of the incidents, the current status of the persons and the details regarding the incidents. Victims were abducted inside and outside Turkey through nefarious methods, brushing away even the most basic rights to fair trial and defense.

Here are some examples of the cases from the report: Isa Ozdemir, a businessman, was abducted from Azerbaijan in July 2018. He is currently jailed and pending trial in Turkey. İsa Özdemir was delivered to the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) by the Azeri authorities unlawfully. The European Court of Human Rights demanded Azerbaijan authorities to explain the reason for the rendition of Özdemir despite concerns that he may be subjected to torture in Turkey. Başoğlu was questioned by the MİT before submitting him to the prosecution.

Arif Komis, an educator, was detained in Malaysia in August 2019. The police from the Malaysian Immigration Bureau detained Arif Komis, his wife and four children. Komis, the director and a teacher at Hibiscus International School, had applied for asylum and was under UN protection. Malaysia surrendered the teacher to Turkey, ignoring reactions against this decision in the international and domestic circles. He is currently jailed and pending trial in Turkey.

Very recently, Orhan Inandi went missing in Kyrgyzstan in June 2021. Educator İnandı, founder and director of the Sapat school network in Kyrgyzstan, went missing after leaving his house in Bishkek on Monday evening, the TR7/24 news website reported. He was last contacted by a friend at around 9 p.m. Attempts by his family to contact him all failed. He is feared to have been abducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, according to his family. Taalaygul Toktakunova, Inandi’s lawyer, shared with the press a footage recorded by a camera in Orhan Inandi’s car. Inandi’s lawyer claimed that Akbarov Ulan, a former employee of Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Internal Affairs, met Orhan Inandi at the night of his abduction. The family has been seeking more information to find Orhan Inandi regarding these claims.

The veil of secrecy over the enforced disappearances has still not been lifted, and it will probably take many years for a full-fledged illumination of them. Those who were found were mostly traumatized after long sessions of tortures. Their physical and psychological conditions were devastated beyond description.

I urge all relevant institutions of the International Human Rights community to urgently provide information to resolve questions and suspicions about the incidents. I also urge the Turkish authorities to carry out a thorough, prompt, independent and impartial investigation on enforced disappearances and abductions. I also call on Kyrgyzstan government to investigate the abduction case of Orhan Inandi, who is still believed to be in Bishkek, take urgent action to find his whereabouts and prevent him from any possible deportation.

Please find the whole report at
https://silencedturkey.org/global-purge-1-144-abductions-conducted-by-the-turkish-government-in-turkey-and-abroad

also another report on abductions at
https://silencedturkey.org/erdogans-long-arms-abductions-in-turkey-and-abroad

Freedom House’s report on Turkey’s Transnational Repression at
https://freedomhouse.org/report/transnational-repression/turkey

more information about the most recent abduction case (Orhan Inandi case) at
https://silencedturkey.org/for-immediate-release-calling-on-kyrgyzstan-government-to-investigate-the-abduction-case-of-orhan-inandi-and-take-urgent-action-to-find-his-whereabouts

more information about Orhan Inandi’s lawyer’s statements at
https://www.facebook.com/100002458866130/posts/4105583339533588/?d=n

You can find the whole copy of the letter from the LINK to send the addresses below.

Relevant Contacts

The Honorable Dunja Mijatovic

Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 34 21
Fax: +33 (0)3 90 21 50 53
Email: [email protected]

Committee Against Torture – Petitions and Inquiries Section

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
E-mail: [email protected],  [email protected],  [email protected],  [email protected]

United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

OHCHR-UNOG CH
1211 Geneva 10 Switzerland
Téléphone: (41-22) 917 90 00
Fax: (+41-22) 917 90 06
E-mail: [email protected]

Petitions and Inquiries Section/Committee on En- forced Disappearances

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
Email: [email protected]

Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission

House Committee on Foreign Affairs 5100
O’Neill House Office Building 200 C Street SW Washington, D.C. 20515 United States of America
Phone: +1 (202) 225-3599
Fax: +1 (202) 226-6584
Email: [email protected]

US Helsinki Commission

234 Ford House Office Building 3rd and D Streets SW Washington, DC 20515
Email: [email protected]

United National Human Rights Committee Petitions Team

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
1211 Geneva 10 (Switzerland)
Fax: + 41 22 917 9022 (particularly for urgent matters)
E-mail: [email protected]

 

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ERDOGAN’S LONG ARMS: ABDUCTIONS IN TURKEY AND ABROAD

PDF LINK

The Origins of the Problem

Turkey’s struggle to draw the country more in line with the pillars of the European Union faced a long and accelerating slide. The country’s Freedom in the World score has been in free fall since 2014 due to an escalating series of assaults on the press, social media users, protesters, political parties, the judiciary, and the electoral system, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan fought to impose personalized control over the state and society in a deteriorating domestic and regional security environment.

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UN Working Group urges AKP govt to release Kaçmaz Family immediately and unconditionally

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN Human Rights Council has called on the Turkish government to immediately release Mesut Kaçmaz and Meral Kaçmaz, a couple that was abducted from their home after midnight in Lahore on September 27, 2017 and deported illegally by the Pakistani government to Turkey just two days before their scheduled appearance before a Pakistani court.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has released its 16-page opinion concerning Mesut Kaçmaz and Meral Kaçmaz and their two daughters.

The UN body called on Turkey to take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Mesut Kaçmaz, Meral Kaçmaz and the two minors without delay and bring them into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The UN body also called on the government of Pakistan and the government of Turkey to accord Mr. and Mrs. Kaçmaz and the two minors an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, including for the impact on their psychological integrity from having been arrested, secretly detained and deported.

For more detailed information about the risks supporters of the Gulen Movement experience, please look at the report prepared by the Advocates of Silenced Turkey on the current and possible threats supporters of the Gulen Movement face abroad titled “I Cannot Say We Are Absolutely Safe Even Abroad.”

Download the report as pdf: https://silencedturkey.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/AST_Report_Threats_Gulen-Movement.pdf

We strongly request Turkish authorities to take all necessary steps to immediately and unconditionally release Kacmaz family.

We urge everyone to take action. Express your views or send attached statement below to following relevant Turkish authorities.

Download sample statement: AST_letter_Kacmaz family

1. Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Justice
Website: http://www.justice.gov.tr
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: +90 (0312) 417 77 70
Fax: +90 (0312) 419 33 70

2. Republic of Turkey, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Website: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/
Contact form: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/contact-us.en.mfa
Phone: +90 (312) 292 10 00

3. Union of Turkish Bar Associations
Website: https://www.barobirlik.org.tr
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: +90 (312) 292 59 00
Fax: +90 (312) 286 31 00

4. Presidency of the Constitutional Court
Website: http://www.anayasa.gov.tr
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: +90 (312) 463 73 00
Fax: +90 (312) 463 74 00

5. Court of Cassation
Website: https://www.yargitay.gov.tr
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: +90 (312) 416 10 00

6. Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C.
Website: http://vasington.be.mfa.gov.tr/Mission
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: +1 202 612 67 00
Fax: +1 202 612 67 44

NEWS ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT:

UN Human Rights Council calls on Turkish gov’t to release Kaçmaz couple immediately
https://stockholmcf.org/un-human-rights-council-calls-on-turkish-govt-to-release-kacmaz-couple-immediately/

UN High Commissioner on Refugees takes notice of Turkish family deportation
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1729982/1-un-high-commissioner-refugees-takes-notice-turkish-family-deportation/

Pro-gov’t media ‘over the moon’ after UN-protected Turkish family forcefully deported to Turkey
https://turkeypurge.com/turkeys-pro-govt-media-over-the-moon-over-un-protected-kacmaz-familys-forced-return

Protests held for safe recovery of Turkish teacher, his family
https://tribune.com.pk/story/1525371/protests-held-safe-recovery-turkish-teacher-family/

Turkish family of PakTurk Schools director abducted in Pakistan: rights group
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-turkey/turkish-family-of-pakturk-schools-director-abducted-in-pakistan-rights-group-idUSKCN1C31CX

Missing Turkish teacher ‘deported from Pakistan’
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/missing-turkish-teacher-deported-pakistan-171016103226988.html

A Turkish family has disappeared in Pakistan, and suspicion turns to intelligence agencies
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/a-turkish-family-has-disappeared-in-pakistan-and-suspicion-turns-to-intelligence-agencies/2017/10/11/aa8c0d80-a480-11e7-b573-8ec86cdfe1ed_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.1041c41bf150

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Turkish government’s ‘Global Purge’ targeted opponents in at least 46 countries

Turkish government has pursued an aggressive policy to silence its perceived enemies in at least 46 countries across four continents, as part of its post-coup crackdown, a Foreign Affairs article noted Monday. The Turkish government has been hunting its opponents abroad, particularly the supporters of the Gulen movement since before and after the failed putsch on July 15, 2016, the article said adding that government’s alleged enemies were targeted at least in 46 countries.

Elaborating on the purge abroad, the magazine said: “Ankara has revoked thousands of passports, and achieved the arrest, deportation, or rendition of hundreds of Turkish citizens from at least 16 countries, including many who were under UN protection as asylum seekers. It has successfully pressured at least 20 countries to close or transfer to new owners dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Gulen movement schools.”

Turkish government accuses the movement of masterminding the 2016 failed coup while the latter denies involvement. More than 150,000 has passed through police custody while over a one-third of those were remanded in prison over Gulen links in Turkey. More than 3,000 schools, dormitories, and universities were shuttered while over 1,000 companies were seized at home.

While the article presents an in-depth insight into the chronological relations between the movement and Turkey’s governments in the recent history, it says the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government labeled the group as a terrorist organization before waging an all-out war against it.

Deportations

“Since the failed coup attempt, Turkey has exerted diplomatic pressure on various governments to arrest or deport hundreds of individuals from around the world. By my count, 15 countries have arrested or deported various representatives of the movement, ranging from supposed financiers to schoolteachers. Those countries include Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Georgia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Turkmenistan. …In at least three cases—Kazakhstan, Myanmar, and Sudan—individuals appear to have been turned over to Turkey without judicial proceedings, perhaps through the operation of a special National Intelligence Organization unit that Turkey’s state news agency says was established to track down “high-value” Gulenists. There have also been multiple cases in which those deported were apparently seeking asylum and thus had protected status at the time they were sent to Turkey: news reports say this was the case in Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Malaysia, and Pakistan. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov admitted that the August 2016 deportation of a software engineer who had applied for asylum before the coup attempt was “on the edge of the law.” In other cases, like in Angola, Pakistan, and Qatar, there were mass deportations following the closure of Gulen schools.”

Also, pro-government commentators, such as Cem Kucuk, have talked casually about how MIT should kill members of the Gulen movement abroad, the magazine reported.

Closure of schools abroad

“The movement’s schools are under extreme pressure in the global purge,” the article highlighted before detailing the pressure on Gulenists’ overseas facilities: “Since its falling-out with the Gulenist movement in 2013, the government has been pressing other countries to shutter the schools. The Gambia closed its Gulen schools in April 2014. Turkey’s close ally Azerbaijan followed soon thereafter and Tajikistan shut down its Gulen schools in 2015. But elsewhere in the world, these schools largely remained open until the coup attempt of July 2016, after which Turkey increased the pressure. The results were quick. Schools were almost immediately closed in Jordan, Libya, and Somalia. Angola, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Morocco, and Tanzania followed suit in early 2017. Before the year was out, Afghanistan, Chad, Georgia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, and Tunisia had all closed or transferred schools.

Pressure extends beyond Gulenists

Not only the supporters of the movement have been targeted, the article said, adding that all alleged government enemies within and outside Turkey were affected.

“In fact, 31 percent of all those arrested in government operations under the state of emergency, which has been in place since October 2016, were associated with Kurdish or leftist groups, according to official figures compiled by iHop, a Turkish human rights monitoring group. Nearly 400 academics who signed a petition before the coup attempt calling for peace between the state and the PKK in January 2016 have also been fired, and some have left Turkey or remained abroad. Others who have been convicted or charged while outside the country now fear traveling because of the threat of detention due to Interpol notices.”

“The global purge has also touched Interpol. In December, the AP reported that Interpol representatives were examining up to 40,000 extradition requests, some perhaps from Turkey, for possible political abuse. The report came after a number of high-profile cases involving Turks abroad, including Dogan Akhanli, a left-wing writer with dual German and Turkish citizenship who was arrested and forced to remain in Spain for two months while Spanish authorities assessed Turkey’s extradition request.”

Sources:
https://turkeypurge.com/report-turkish-governments-global-purge-targeted-opponents-least-46-countries
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/turkey/2018-01-29/remarkable-scale-turkeys-global-purge?cid=int-fls&pgtype=hpg

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AST Turkish Human Rights Violations Weekly Oct. 23

Download as pdf: AST_Turkish Human Rights Violations Weekly_Oct23

Turkey’s Human Rights Violations | 10/16/2017-10/23/2017

1-“Turkish family, abducted in Pakistan, sent back to Turkey even without passports: lawyer ”
https://turkeypurge.com/video-turkish-family-abducted-in-pakistan-forced-back-to-turkeyeven-without-passports-lawyer

2- “Another Turkish citizen with Gülen links allegedly disappears abroad”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/10/16/video-another-turkish-citizen-with-gulen-linksallegedly-disappears-abroad/

3- “HRW: People being tortured, abducted in post-coup Turkey”
https://turkeypurge.com/people-being-tortured-abducted-in-post-coup-turkey-hrw

4- “Will Britain challenge torture in Turkey”
https://twitter.com/hrw/status/921275565281304576

5- “Helsinki Commission urges Erdogan to end state of emergency”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/10/20/helsinki-commission-urges-erdogan-to-end-stateof-emergency/

6- “Pro-gov’t journalist: Turkey to abduct Gülen followers in US, Europe”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/10/20/pro-govt-journalist-turkey-to-abduct-gulenfollowers-in-us-europe/

7-“Some 50,000 Gülenists jailed since coup attempt: Turkish justice minister”
https://turkeypurge.com/some-50000-gulenists-jailed-since-coup-attempt-turkish-justiceminister

8-“3 teachers, 2 businessmen detained for ‘Gülen propaganda’ on social media”
https://turkeypurge.com/3-teachers-2-businessmen-detained-for-gulen-propaganda-on-socialmedia

9- ” Turkish minister: State of emergency only targets Gülen movement”
https://twitter.com/TurkishMinuteTM/status/919558481765699584

Türkiye tarafından işlenenen İnsan Hakları İhlalleri | 10/16/2017-10/23/2017

1-“Kaçmaz ailesi Türkiye’ye kaçırıldı”
http://aktifhaber.com/genel/kacmaz-ailesi-turkiyeye-kacirildi-h105767.html

2-“Kazakistan’da kaçırılan Enver Kılıç’ın eşi dünya’ya seslendi”
http://www.shaber3.com/kazakistanda-kacirilan-enver-kilicin-esi-dunyaya-seslendihaberi/1291717/

3-“Kaçırılma ve işkenceler HRW raporunda”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/kacirilma-ve-iskenceler-hrw-raporunda-h105622.html

4-“Hollanda, Türklerin ilticalarını kabul etmeye başladı. Gerekçesi çok manidar”
https://twitter.com/aktif_haber/status/921380486760382464

5- “Tutukluyu nezarethaneden gizlice alıp evine götürdüler”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/tutukluyu-nezarethaneden-gizlice-alip-evine-goturdulerh106161.html

6- “Bartın Emniyeti’nde Organize İşkence”
http://www.tr724.com/bartin-emniyetinde-organize-iskence/

7- “Platform for Peace & Justice Türkiye’deki 80 cezaevinin röntgenini çekti: işkence, tecavüz,
tehdit ve kötü muamele!”
http://www.tr724.com/patform-for-peace-justice-turkiyedeki-80-cezaevinin-rontgenini-cektiiskence-tecavuz-tehdit-ve-kotu-muamele/

8- “OHAL Türkiye’sinde cezaevleri: “25 kişi aynı koğuştayız, 3 arkadaşımız mutfakta, 8
arkadaşımız yerde yatıyor”
http://www.tr724.com/ohal-turkiyesinde-cezaevleri-25-kisi-ayni-kogustayiz-3-arkadasimizmutfakta-8-arkadasimiz-yerde-yatiyor/

9- “İleri derecede kanser ve böbrek hastası işçi emeklisi tutuklandı”
http://aktifhaber.com/iskence/ileri-derecede-kanser-ve-bobrek-hastasi-isci-emeklisitutuklandi-h106087.html

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