Family members had reported them ’missing’

A friend of Turgay’s lodged a police report later that day after attempts to contact the victim were unsuccessful.

Ihsan was reported missing by his wife Ainnurul Aisyah after he did not respond to her phone calls.

Turgay was supposed to testify as a witness in a criminal trial yesterday but did not turn up as he had been arrested.

It is learnt that the trial involved several suspects, including Turkish nationals, for obstructing Immigration officers from discharging their duties.

The defendants’ lawyer, Muhammad Faizal Faiz Mohd Hasani, had informed magistrate Siti Radziah Kamarudin during the trial that the witness had been “abducted”.

The court postponed the trial and fixed May 19 for management.

The case began when an Immigration team went to the home of a Turk, identified only as Ismet, to request that he surrender to be deported.

When he refused, the Immigration officers sought assistance from the police.

Ismet and a few other Turks, including Turgay, were then involved in an altercation with the team, resulting in all of them being arrested, except Turgay who did not participate in the scuffle.

Those arrested were charged under Section 353 of the Penal Code for obstructing a civil servant in discharging his duties.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported Turgay’s lawyer, Rosli Dahlan, as saying the “disappearances” of Turgay and Ihsan bore similarities to a case in October when two Turks in Malaysia were reported missing and later discovered to have been deported to Turkey.

He denied speculation that the men were supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is being blamed by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan for orchestrating a failed coup last year. Gulen denies any involvement in the failed coup, in which more than 230 people were killed.

“Turgay is an academic and has not been charged for any Gulen activities,” Rosli said.