HRW urges Kyrgyzstan to ensure safety of missing Turkish-Kyrgyz educator

HUMAN Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Kyrgyzstan authorities to investigate the disappearance of the founder of an education network in the Central Asian country amid concern that he may be forcibly deported to Turkey, where he could be at risk of “mistreatment or torture” and would face arbitrary detention and an unfair trial, RFE/RL (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty) reported.

Orhan İnandı, a dual Turkish-Kyrgyz citizen identified as İnan in his Turkish documents, is “likely to be persecuted” for his alleged ties to the movement connected with US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, the New York-based human rights group said in statement on Wednesday.

Over the past five years, Turkey has requested that Kyrgyzstan shut down the activities of İnandı’s Sapat Educational Institutions, a network of schools and an international university in Kyrgyzstan, saying that it is linked to Mr Gülen who Ankara blames for the failed coup in 2016.

“The Kyrgyz government has a responsibility to investigate his disappearance, determine where he is being held, and ensure his safety and that he is not unlawfully removed to Turkey,” said Syinat Sultanalieva, Central Asia researcher at HRW.

İnandı, the 53-year-old founder and chairman of the board of Sapat, has lived in Kyrgyzstan since 1995. He was granted Kyrgyz citizenship in 2012.

İnandı went missing late in the night on May 31. His car was found in downtown Bishkek early the next day with the doors wide open and valuable items still inside seemingly untouched, suggesting this was not a case of robbery.

His wife, Reyhan İnandı, said last week she had evidence that he was being held in the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek, a claim denied by the diplomatic mission.

Daily protests demanding an effective investigation into İnandı’s disappearance have taken place in the Kyrgyz capital, with many of the demonstrators saying they believed the missing educator was abducted by Turkish secret services.