November 27, 2017

Gülen-linked businessman jailed after forced return from Sudan

Memduh Çıkmaz, a Turkish businessman who was earlier detained in Sudan at Turkey’s request, has been returned back home and jailed pending trial over ties to the Gülen movement.

“FETO’s money safe was brought back to Turkey with MIT [Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency] operation,” state-run Anadolu news agency announced on Monday.

“According to security sources, MIT which earlier established a special unit for FETÖ’s overseas members and those who had fled Turkey, located Memduh Çıkmaz’s place in Sudan two months ago. Çıkmaz was detained at his home as part of a joint operation with Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), and questioned,” Anadolu said.

“MIT’s special team brought Çıkmaz back to Turkey immediately after his [departure] process in Sudan was completed, in the wee hours.”

A Corum court subsequently put him in pretrial detention on accusations of leading a terrorist organization.

Once awarded by former President Abdullah Gul as the third highest tax payer in the central Anatolian province of Corum, Çıkmaz faces investigation over his ties to the Gulen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and calls it FETO, short for the alleged Fethullahist Terrorist Organization.

The group denies involvement in the abortive coup.

According to media, Turkey submitted the translation of a 500-page indictment to Sudan seeking Çıkmaz’s deportation.

Turkey has already detained more than 120,000 people over their alleged or real ties to the movement at home before spreading its crackdown to overseas. More than a dozen Turkish nationals with links to the movement were deported from several countries to Turkey where most of them have been held in in pre-trial detention since.

A number of human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch issued statements in recent times, urging foreign governments to avoid extradition to Turkey.

Published on Turkey Purge, 27 November 2017, Monday

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