Well, Malaysia has allegedly arrested a Turkish teacher and family who may be deported back to Turkey...and he is a UNHCR recognised asylum seeker...
We recall that Malaysia also arrested and deported earlier this year in May 2019 a Thai National, one Praphan Pipithnamporn, then a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) recognized asylum seeker..
Then we have Zakir Naik, where Malaysia refused to send back to India...
The concern is whether Malaysia's response is determined by which country that is making the request? Is religion a factor?
Malaysia risk violation of the principle of non-refoulement when it sends back refugees and/or asylum seekers ...more so when the said persons are recognised by the UNHCR as Refugees and/or Asylum Seekers...
Turkish Presiden Erdogan is a friend of Anwar Ibrahim...so, what does Anwar say about this violation of the principle of 'non-refoulement'?
Zakir Naik, on the other hand was wanted for money-laundering offences...besides some terrorist linked offences by India...
Without a clear Refugee and Asylum Seeker law in Malaysia, are these arrest and deportation on the 'whims and fancies' of the Malaysian Prime Minister and government?
Who decided to arrest and deport people? The Home Minister? How is he deciding? What are the reasons?
Could such decisions be challenged in Malaysian Courts by way of Judicial Review? It should be. After all the Judiciary has a duty to ensure that the government(Executive's) decisions are just and right > and the courts have the power to overturn bad decisions of the PM or Home Minister or the Cabinet? Was this matter even raised in Cabinet or is it simply a decision by the Home Minister?
Malaysia has in the past also deported Turkish back to Turkey - what happened to them...see one media report below about one such person.. 'İsmet Özçelik was deported in 2017 from Malaysia to Turkey, where he was accused of having ties to the network of Fethullah Gülen, a cleric who Ankara says sought an uprising the previous year...A year later, he was sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months on charges of membership and propaganda of Gulen movement via social media....read more in media report below?
Is Turkey targeting the Opposition?
What will the PH government do? Will they follow the previous BN government, and send back to Turkey anyone that Ankara demands?
Malaysia to deport Turkish teacher under UN protection?
KOTA KINABALU, Aug 30 — Turkish teacher Arif Komis and his family who
are protected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) have been taken by the police to be deported home for
prosecution, according to several human rights activists.
Turkey-based human rights website Turkeypurge.com said it
received an email from eyewitnesses claiming that Komis, his wife and
four children were nabbed two nights ago from their home in Kuala Lumpur
and are currently being held at an immigration centre near Putrajaya
where they are being processed for deportation at the request of the
Turkish government.
“Mr Komis, who is a chemistry teacher, was repeatedly denied passport
by the Turkish Embassy and thus given protection by the UN. He and his
family are in UN protection,” Turkeypurge wrote.
According to the news portal, Komis was working at a group of schools
affiliated with the Gülen movement, which Malaysia has deemed a terror
group that has been accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of
masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Malay Mail has contacted UNHCR and the Immigration Department to verify the allegations and is waiting for a reply.
The Komis family’s alleged arrest and possible deportation was also
tweeted by human rights group Global Rights Issue and Human Rights
Watch’s Asia division deputy director Phil Robertson, who urged
Malaysian authorities not to send them back to Turkey where they are at
danger of persecution.
“Where’s Malaysia civil society to protect this Turkish person of
concern to UNHCR and family? Why is the Pakatan Harapan government
violating refugee rights in this way? Why’s a simple school teacher
treated so shoddily? Don’t send him back to Turkey!” Robertson tweeted, tagging Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
Some other Twitter users replying to the post have compared and
contrasted the treatment of the Turk to that of controversial
Mumbai-born Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, who Malaysia refuses to
deport home to India where he faces money laundering and terror-related
charges.
Other social media users also asked if it is acceptable for Malaysia to forcibly deport someone under UN protection.
Dr Mahathir pledged his Pakatan Harapan government’s support for the
Turkish government under Erdogan during a visit to the republic last
month, and said Malaysia will continue to crack down on members of the
Gulen group, also known as the Gulenist Terror Organisation (Feto).
Malaysia previously extradited wanted men by the Turkish government
suspected of involvement with Feto, in what Ankara claimed is a group
led by US-based exile preacher Fethullah Gulen.
In 2017, three Turkish men associated with Gulen — Turgay Karaman,
İhsan Aslan and İsmet Özçelik — were deported from Malaysia to Turkey
despite international warnings over the risk of torture.
Ozcelik, a Turkish academic, in July was given a jail sentence of
almost 10 years without even being able to present his final defence.
Karaman, a school principal, was also sentenced to six years in prison
the same month.
Feto is gazetted as a terror group, but only by Turkey and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation — of which Malaysia is a member. The
UN objected and demanded that Turkey release the men and pay them
compensation. - Malay Mail, 30/8/2019
Malaysian police detain UN-protected family at Turkey’s request
Malaysian police have detained a Turkish teacher and his family working at a group of schools affiliated with the Gülen group, which is accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2016.
According to an e-mail sent to Turkeypurge editors, Arif Komis, a Turkish teacher, and his famiyl members are currently held in a detention center at the Immigration Office near Putrajaya. They are believed to be detained upon a request by the Turkish government, and thus face deportation to Turkey
According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Komiş, his wife and 4 kids were detained in a house raid in Kuala Lumpur late on August 28, 2019. They are likely to be sent to Turkey for prosecution.
Mr. Komis, who is a chemistry teacher, was repeatedly denied passport by the Turkish Embassy and thus given protection by the UN. He and his family are in UN protection.
Over 100 Gulenists forcibly returned to Turkey so far: minister
More than 100 people were forcibly returned from abroad as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup crackdown against the Gulen movement, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.Speaking to media on the second anniversary of the July 15, 2016 failed coup, Cavusoglu said the government rounded up over 100 such people abroad and brought them back to Turkey as part of investigations.
“We brought back several leading FETO members from abroad. It made it into the news on some occasions and didn’t on others. We didn’t speak about some of those in the media at the request of the countries they were brought from. We can say that we have brought back over 100 leading FETO members from several countries,” Cavusoglu said.
Pro-government Daily Sabah reported last week that Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has located 4,600 suspected followers of the Gulen movement in 110 countries so far.
Turkish president Erdoğan accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 and calls it FETO [short for the alleged Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] while the latter denies involvement in the coup and any terrorist activities.
More than 150,000 people have been detained and 90,000 were remanded in prison over Gulen links in Turkey since the summer of 2016. Meanwhile, Erdogan called on foreign governments to punish Gulenists in their own countries.
So far, a number of countries like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Georgia and Myanmar handed over academics, businessmen and school principals upon the Turkish government’s request despite the fact that some of those victims already had refugee status with the United Nations.
On some occasions, Turkish intelligence agency was reported to have abducted the suspected Gulenists overseas despite rulings by local courts turning down Turkey’s requests for deportation. - Turkey Purge, 29/8/2019
Malaysia to deport Turkish family upon request from Ankara claiming Gülen links: report
A Turkish family under UN protection in Malaysia is
being held at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by local officials who are
planning to deport them upon a request from Turkey on accusations of membership
in the faith-based Gülen movement, according to the Kronos news website.
Malaysian police on Wednesday evening detained Arif
Komiş, who was an executive at the Gülen-linked Hibiskus International School, along
with his family, the report said.
According to an official document on its website, the UN
provided protection to the Komiş family on June 12 after they filed an
application for asylum.
The UN in mid-August moved six Gülen-linked teachers
from Mongolia to Canada after accepting their asylum applications due to
imminent threats from the Turkish government.
In 2017 three Turkish nationals were detained and
deported to Turkey by Malaysian officials upon a request from Ankara.
Turkey accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating a
2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
Since the failed coup, over 100 individuals have been brought back to
Turkey from abroad, while many other countries, most recently Brazil,
have rejected Ankara’s requests.
Turkey has been conducting a massive post-coup crackdown targeting Gülen movement followers.- Turkish Minute, 29/8/2019
Jailed Turkish teacher held in prison for 12 days despite serious risk of congestive heart failure: son
İsmet Özçelik,
a Turkish academic wo was abducted and rendered from Malaysia to Turkey
and later sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months in prison, has still been
held in prison despite having suffered a cardiac problem for over twelve
days.
Özçelik son’s Suat Özçelik tweeted Saturday that his father has been denied medical procedure for days.
“Today is the 12th day. My father has not yet been taken to a doctor for any medical purposes,” Özçelik tweeted.
İsmet Özçelik was deported in 2017 from Malaysia to Turkey, where he was accused of having ties to the network of Fethullah Gülen, a cleric who Ankara says sought an uprising the previous year.
A year later, he was sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months on charges of membership and propaganda of Gulen movement via social media.
Özçelik was indicted on charges of depositing money to now-closed Islamic lender Bank Asya, which was linked to the Gülen movement, and using the ByLock smartphone application, which is claimed to be the main tool of communication among followers of the movement by Turkish authorities.
Both acts are considered criminal activity by the Turkish judiciary, which has been harshly criticized for acting on orders from the government. - Turkish Purge, 10/8/2019
Özçelik son’s Suat Özçelik tweeted Saturday that his father has been denied medical procedure for days.
“Today is the 12th day. My father has not yet been taken to a doctor for any medical purposes,” Özçelik tweeted.
İsmet Özçelik was deported in 2017 from Malaysia to Turkey, where he was accused of having ties to the network of Fethullah Gülen, a cleric who Ankara says sought an uprising the previous year.
A year later, he was sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months on charges of membership and propaganda of Gulen movement via social media.
Özçelik was indicted on charges of depositing money to now-closed Islamic lender Bank Asya, which was linked to the Gülen movement, and using the ByLock smartphone application, which is claimed to be the main tool of communication among followers of the movement by Turkish authorities.
Both acts are considered criminal activity by the Turkish judiciary, which has been harshly criticized for acting on orders from the government. - Turkish Purge, 10/8/2019
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