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/2025/08/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 a statement to following relevant Turkish authorities.

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

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