Turkey/Kyrgyzstan: Rendition of Turkish-Kyrgyz Educator

(Berlin) – Turkish and Kyrgyz authorities kidnapped, forcibly disappeared and extralegalfully transferred a dual Turkish-Kyrgyz national living in Bishkek to Turkey, Human Rights Watch said today. The actions involved serious violations of international and national law.

Orhan İnandı, the director of a network of prestigious schools in Kyrgyzstan, is the latest victim in a series of cases in which Turkish intelligence services have been involved in the unlawful transfer of people from all over the world to Turkey. The target persons are said to be connected to the movement of the US-based Sunni clergyman Fethullah Gülen. The Turkish government considers the Gülen movement to be a terrorist organization responsible for the attempted coup in Turkey in July 2016.

“Orhan İnandi’s abduction, forced disappearance and unlawful transport from Kyrgyzstan to Turkey shows once again the ruthless disregard for the rule of law in general and the most basic norms of international law,” said Hugh Williamson, director for Europe and Central Asia at Human Rights Watch . “The fact that İnandı, a Turkish-Kyrgyz dual citizen, could be kidnapped and missing on Kyrgyz soil for weeks, only to be illegally removed from the country by the Turkish secret services, indicates that the Kyrgyz government is either unwilling or not in the Is able to oppose Ankara or directly discussed with them. “

On July 5, 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced to the media that the Turkish secret services had brought İnandı to Turkey, where he was “handed over to justice”, and video footage showing him handcuffed in front of Turkish flags is tied up. İnandı has been missing in Bishkek since May 31, apparently kidnapped from his abandoned car. He remained unanswered until Erdo’s announcement. Allegations by İnandı’s wife that he was detained in the Turkish embassy in Bishkek for weeks after his abduction have not been officially confirmed by the Kyrgyz or Turkish authorities.

On July 6, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said in an interview that the government of İnand would demand an immediate return to Kyrgyzstan. He also stated that there have been three attempts to kidnap İnandı since 2016, the last being prevented by the Kyrgyz State National Security Committee in early 2021. The Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry also sent a diplomatic note to Turkish Ambassador Ahmet Sadık Dogan on July 6, calling on Turkey to return İnandı to Kyrgyzstan and to ensure that he is not ill-treated while in detention, in accordance with international norms Law. Although there was no official response, Ambassador Dogan was quoted in the media as saying that İnandı is a Turkish citizen.

Civil society groups and others have expressed shock at nand’s forcible rendition to Turkey because they are concerned that the Kyrgyz government has not properly investigated his disappearance. The case raised questions about the impartiality of Kyrgyz law enforcement agencies, particularly the State Committee for National Security, after Turkish media alleged that Kyrgyz authorities were complicit in İnand’s enforced disappearance.

This was made more difficult by the news on June 16 that the State Committee had investigated not the kidnapping of İnandı but his Kyrgyz citizenship. Although President Japarov instructed the Kyrgyz police and the State Committee for National Security to intensify the search for İnandı on June 1, the Prosecutor General of Bishkek confirmed on the 24th part of the investigative working group.

In the past five years, numerous men alleged by the Turkish authorities to have links to the Gülen movement have been arbitrarily arrested in countries around the world and deported to Turkey. They are detained there on false terrorism charges that violate due process and international law to protect fundamental rights such as freedom and security, fair trial, and freedom of expression, expression and association.

In several of these cases, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued statements finding that Turkey has arbitrarily detained the men. In many cases, the men have been enforced disappearances as part of the illegal process of forcing their return to Turkey.

In the case of enforced disappearance, a person is deprived of their liberty through or with the acquiescence of civil servants, but their detention is either refused or their whereabouts are kept secret, in violation of the legal protection against such egregious forms of arbitrary detention. As with other cases of this type, there are serious and credible concerns that İnandı, who is already arbitrarily detained, will face prolonged unlawful pre-trial detention and unfair trial.

“The Turkish government should immediately disclose where İnandı is being held in Turkey and ensure his immediate release,” said Williamson. “While he is in custody, he should be given a thorough medical examination by an independent medical professional in a hospital with no security guards present, and urgent access to a lawyer of his choice with a view to arriving on time, a judge. Kyrgyzstan should take steps to ensure the safety and protection of the human rights of its citizens and to hold all those responsible for its abduction, enforced disappearance and unlawful deportation to Turkey accountable. “