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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: commissioner@coe.int

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: petitions@ohchr.org,  TB-petitions@ohchr.org,  cat@ohchr.org,  registry@ohchr.org

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: wgeid@ohchr.org

Petitions and Inquiries Section/Committee on En- forced Disappearances

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva
Email: petitions@ohchr.org

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: TLHRC@mail.house.gov

US Helsinki Commission

234 Ford House Office Building 3rd and D Streets SW Washington, DC 20515
Email: info@csce.gov

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: petitions@ohchr.org

 

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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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AST Turkey’s Human Rights Violations Weekly April 15

Download as pdf: AST_Turkey’s Human Rights Violations Weekly_April 15

Turkey’s Human Rights Violations | 04/08/2019-04/15/2019

1-“Election authority says elected mayors not to be given mandate if they are purge victims”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/10/election-authority-says-elected-mayors-not-to-be-given-mandate-if-they-are-purge-victims/

2-“Turkey’s Erdoğan urges Sudan to operate under ‘normal democratic process”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/11/turkeys-erdogan-urges-sudan-to-operate-under-normal-democratic-process/

3-“Video game portrays opposition mayoral candidate’s quest for mandate”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/11/video-game-portrays-opposition-mayoral-candidates-quest-for-mandate/

4-“Wives of jailed police chiefs who exposed corruption given lengthy prison sentences”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/10/wives-of-jailed-police-chiefs-who-exposed-corruption-given-lengthy-prison-sentences/

5-‘’Jailed woman forced to go through labor for two days in handcuffs”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/10/jailed-woman-forced-to-go-through-labor-for-two-days-in-handcuffs/

6-“HRW: Turkey has arbitrarily jailed hundreds of lawyers since 2016 coup”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/10/hrw-turkey-has-arbitrarily-jailed-hundreds-of-lawyers-since-2016-coup/

7-“Turkey orders detention of 292 people over Gülen links: report”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/09/turkey-orders-detention-of-292-people-over-gulen-links-report/

8-European rights court orders Turkey to compensate citizen held in police custody when he was 8
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/09/european-rights-court-orders-turkey-to-compensate-citizen-held-in-police-custody-when-he-was-8/

9-“Convicted coup suspect says he was victim of that night”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/08/convicted-coup-suspect-says-he-was-victim-of-that-night/

10-“Erdoğan’s targeting of journalist goes unnoticed: ‘Public got used to it’ former editor says”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/07/erdogans-targeting-of-journalist-goes-unnoticed-public-got-used-to-it-former-editor-says/

11-“Ministry says purged staff cannot be reinstated unless family member is acquitted’”
https://turkeypurge.com/ministry-says-purged-staff-cannot-be-reinstated-unless-family-member-is-acquitted

12-“HRW: Bar associations in Europe, US, Canada should advocate for lawyers in Turkey”
https://turkeypurge.com/white-house-must-stand-up-to-erdogans-politically-motivated-detentions-us-senator-says

13-‘’Detention warrants issued for 292 people over Gulen links”
https://turkeypurge.com/detention-warrants-issued-for-292-people-over-gulen-links

14-“Wives of police chiefs who led 2013 corruption operations sentenced to 6 years in prison”
https://turkeypurge.com/wives-of-police-chiefs-who-led-2013-corruption-operations-sentenced-to-6-years-in-prison

15-“Pro-Erdogan mafia boss says will take to the streets if the government asks”
https://turkeypurge.com/pro-erdogan-mafia-boss-says-will-take-to-the-streets-if-the-government-asks

16-‘’Mayor-elect purged teacher denied certificate of election by electoral council: report”
https://turkeypurge.com/mayor-elect-purged-teacher-denied-certificate-of-election-by-electoral-council-report

17-“First-Ever Comprehensive Biography on Fethullah Gülen”
https://hizmetnews.com/24806/first-ever-comprehensive-biography-on-fethullah-gulen/#.XLClfLfYrnE

18. “300 purge victim judges, prosecutors barred from obtaining law licenses: report”
https://www.turkishminute.com/2019/04/11/300-purge-victim-judges-prosecutors-barred-from-obtaining-law-licenses-report/

19. “ 9 purge-victim mayor-elects denied mandate by Turkey’s election authority”
https://turkeypurge.com/9-purge-victim-mayor-elects-denied-mandate-by-turkeys-election-authority

20. “Berkin Elvan’ın vurulduğu yerde 6 yıl sonra keşif”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/berkin-elvanin-vuruldugu-yerde-6-yil-sonra-kesif-h130907

21. “Yandaşta kavga başladı: ‘Reis’çilere ‘Zübükzade’ benzetmesi”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/yandasta-kavga-basladi-reiscilere-zubukzade-benzetmesi-h130911.html

22. “Rabia Naz’ın babası akıl hastanesine yatırılıyor”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/rabia-nazin-babasi-akil-hastanesine-yatiriliyor-h130908.html

23. “Meriç Nehri’nde sonlanan genç, coşkulu ve neşeli bir hayat”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/meric-nehrinde-sonlanan-genc-coskulu-ve-neseli-bir-hayat-h130875.html

24. “Akın İpek’in iade davasında İngiltere’den Türkiye’ye ikinci ret”
http://aktifhaber.com/gundem/akin-ipekin-iade-davasinda-ingiltereden-turkiyeye-ikinci-ret-h130873.html

25. ‘’Gazeteci İbrahim Karayeğen, koğuş arkadaşı Ahmet Altan’ı anlattı”
http://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/gazeteci-ibrahim-karayegen-kogus-arkadasi-ahmet-altani-anlatti-h130987.html

26. “Karikatürist Carlos Latuff, Türkiye’deki tutuklu hamile kadınları çizdi”
http://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/karikaturist-carlos-latuff-turkiyedeki-tutuklu-hamile-kadinlari-cizdi-h130986.html

27. ‘’Babasında Bylock olduğu gerekçesiyle kızına 6 yıl 3 ay ceza verildi”
http://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/babasinda-bylock-oldugu-gerekcesiyle-kizina-6-yil-3-ay-ceza-verildi-h130959.html

28. ‘’Hastanede skandal; tutuklu kadına, kelepçeli doğum!”
http://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/hastanede-skandal-tutuklu-kadina-kelepceli-dogum-h130867.html

29. “KHK ile ihraç 59 polis hakkında daha gözaltı kararı”
http://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/khk-ile-ihrac-59-polis-hakkinda-daha-gozalti-karari-h130850.html

30. “Erdoğan’ın yeni köşkü için inşaat başladı”
http://www.tr724.com/erdoganin-yeni-kosku-icin-insaat-basladi/

31. “Birçok ilde ‘cadı avı’ operasyonu: 288 gözaltı kararı”
http://www.tr724.com/bircok-ilde-cadi-avi-operasyonu-288-gozalti-karari/

32. “AKP gündeme getirdi; Büyükçekmece’de ‘sahte seçmen’ operasyonu başladı”
http://www.tr724.com/akp-gundeme-getirdi-buyukcekmecede-sahte-secmen-operasyonu-basladi/

33. “Profesyonel infazı böyle tarif etti: “Cinayet Türkiye için yeni bir Susurluk’tur”
http://www.tr724.com/profesyonel-infazi-boyle-tarif-etti-cinayet-turkiye-icin-yeni-bir-susurluktur/

34. “Tedavi için dışarıda olması gereken Avşin bebeğe mahkemeden ret!”
http://www.tr724.com/tedavi-icin-disarida-olmasi-gereken-avsin-bebege-mahkemeden-ret/

35. ”Türkiye genelinde 280 kişi için gözaltı kararı”
http://aktifhaber.com/15-temmuz/turkiye-genelinde-280-kisi-icin-gozalti-karari-h130849.html

36. “Hekimlerle derdiniz ne?”
http://www.tr724.com/hekimlerle-derdiniz-ne/

37. “Zindana açık mektup: Hakkını helal et bacım!”
http://www.tr724.com/zindana-acik-mektup-hakkini-helal-et-bacim/

38. “Sippenhaft –aile boyu “suç”
http://www.tr724.com/sippenhaft-aile-boyu-suc/

39. “Çocuklarınız sizden utanacak”
http://www.tr724.com/cocuklariniz-sizden-utanacak/

40. “Mahir Mete Kul’un hikâyesi”
http://www.tr724.com/mahir-mete-kulun-hikayesi/

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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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