Recently, Turkish intelligence agencies have abducted two Turkish nationals from Ukraine’s Odessa and Nikolaev, an opposition blogger and a journalist Yusuf Inan and a businessman Salih Igit.
Officially, the Ukrainian authorities do not comment on the detention of the Turks. Both the Prosecutor General’s Office and the SBU stated that they do not know anything about this.
“The Prosecutor’s Office acts on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, which is engaged in rendition program, and the GPU was not asked,” Andrei Lysenko, the speaker of the Prosecutor General’s Office, told us.
At the same time, Inan’s wife, in an interview with the “Country”, stated that her husband has been detained by the SBU, and then he was extradited to Turkey, although the 5-day sentence has not yet expired.
As it became known to our publication from sources in diplomatic circles, the extradition of Turkish opposition became possible due to personal agreements between Poroshenko and Erdogan. Turkish Intelligence took them by private plane to Istanbul.
And, as “Country” already wrote , this may not be the last case: the “list for extradition” includes 8 more people.
“The Country” found out what these people suspect and what they think about the arrests of oppositionists in Turkey itself.
Inan and Igit are supporters of the Turkish opposition organization Fethullah Gülen. He is a 77-year-old public figure and preacher, now an outspoken critic of Erdogan, and in the recent past – his supporter and comrade. At one time he was called the second most influential person in Turkey, and then Gulen accused the president of corruption and authoritarianism, and their ways diverged.
For the past 20 years, Gülen has lived in the United States and during this time created a network of his followers and schools called “Hizmet” (translated as “service”), which his friends-entrepreneurs finance. Supporters call him “imam”, and the Turkish authorities will blame the spread of sedition and attempt to organize a coup.
Actually, round-ups against Gyulens started about two years ago, after the failed coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016. Arrested journalists, officials, businessmen, teachers, military, judges – both in the country and abroad.
Tens of thousands of people are already detained.
After Erdogan’s victory in the June 24 elections, the arrests intensified. Recently, Turkish oppositionists were removed from Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Kosovo, Pakistan and African Gabon. At home, they are waiting for prison terms up to life.