Press Release: Enforced Disappearances of Educationist Orhan Inandi

Reactions continue against the arbitrary detention of educator Orhan Inandi, who was kidnapped 9 days ago in Kyrgyzstan and allegedly held in the Turkish Embassy in Bishkek.

A group of activists gathered in Amsterdam Dam Square, the capital of the Netherlands, and called for educator Orhan İnandı to be found immediately.  Mr. Erdinc Demirkok reads the press release of Broken Chalk on the Enforced Disappearances of Educationist Orhan Inandi.

To download the press release as pdf please click the Orhan_Inandi_Press_Release_eng

 

Mohammed Ayat, Chair of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances, said tens of millions of disappearances are perpetrated around the world, with the daily number climbing towards 1,000 a day.[1]

 Another enforced disappearance occurs last week in Kyrgyzstan. Dual Turkish-Kyrgyz Citizen Educationist Orhan Inandi has been missing since May 31, 2021. Inandi is under the risks of torture, removal to Turkey.[2]

Orhan Inandi has been serving in Kyrgyzstan since 1995. He has been the chairman of International Sapat Educational Institutions since 2001.[3] The Turkish government in 2019 accused İnandı of links with the Gülen movement.[4]

Since 2015, hundreds of men alleged by the Turkish authorities to have links with the Gülen movement, living in countries around the world, have been arbitrarily detained and forcibly returned to Turkey. All these people are faced with very serious human rights violations in Turkey.

According to Turkey’s Justice Ministry, Turkey requests 807 people from 27 countries. Among those, 116 were transferred to Turkey as of July 2020.[5] In recent years some Turkish teachers have also been extradited from Albania[6], Kosovo[7] , and Malaysia[8] to Turkey.  The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found both parties guilty in those cases.

Allowing İnandı’s rendition to Turkey would violate Kyrgyzstan’s obligations under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which it ratified in 1997. Article 3 of the convention includes an absolute prohibition on extraditing or returning anyone to a place where they risk being tortured. His forcible return could also set a worrying precedent in Kyrgyzstan.[9]

We request the Kyrgyzstan authorities for an urgent, transparent, and open investigation of the Disappearances of Inandi.

We call all the international bodies, human rights defenders, and every member of the public to raise their voices for the  Disappearances of Inandi, before it is too late.

Broken Chalk announces it to the public with due respect.

Broken Chalk*

 

*Broken Chalk is a human rights organization and mainly concentrates on violations in the educational field.

[1] https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/gashc4297.doc.htm

[2] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/06/09/kyrgyzstan-missing-dual-turkish-kyrgyz-citizen-risks-torture-removal-turkey

[3] https://24.kg/english/195976_Sapat_educational_institution_asks_for_help_in_search_for_Orhan_Inandi/

[4] https://nordicmonitor.com/2019/08/5045/

[5] https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/15-temmuz-darbe-girisimi/firari-fetoculer-icin-105-ulkeyle-yurutulen-iade-trafigi/1908422

[6] https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=25127

[7]https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session88/A_HRC_WGAD_2020_47_Advance_Edited_Version.pdf

[8] https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Detention/Opinions/Session81/A_HRC_WGAD_2018_11.pdf

[9] https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/06/09/kyrgyzstan-missing-dual-turkish-kyrgyz-citizen-risks-torture-removal-turkey