Turkish educator Veysel Akçay, the general director of schools affiliated with the Gülen movement in Mongolia, has called on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) for urgent action against imminent abduction risk. He was abducted by the agents of Turkey’s notorious National Intelligence Organisation (MİT) on July 27, 2018, in front of his house in Ulaanbaatar.

Writing a letter to UNCHR, Akçay’s lawyers requested on August 24, 2018, an urgent action to prevent his imminent illegal deportation to Turkey. The lawyers stated that the decisive actions by the UNHCR and the government of Mongolia on July 27, 2018, enabled timely release and prevented illegal transfer to Turkey of Mr. Veysel Akçay.

In order to take Akçay to Turkey after his abduction, a private plane was held at Chinggis Khaan  Airport for all day on July 27. Akçay, who has worked at educational institutions in Mongolia for 24 years, is reportedly one of only a few Turkish nationals awarded the Mongolian Friendship Medal bestowed by the Mongolian state.

After reactions from Mongolian public and media, the Mongolian authorities did not allow the MİT agents to transfer Akçay from Ulaanbaatar to Turkey. The private plane had to depart the airport without Akçay.

The Mongolian Foreign Ministry had issued a statement on the abduction of Akçay and underlined that such an unacceptable act would be “a violation of Mongolia’s sovereignty and independence” and that Mongolia would strongly object to it. The Mongolian Foreign Ministry statement had indicated that Deputy Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg met with a Turkish diplomat over the abduction case.

Akçay works as general manager of the Empathy Worldwide Educational Institution, which has run the Turkish-Mongolia Schools (four high schools, one international school, one-day care center) established by the Gülen movement 25 years ago.

According to a statement made by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, over 100 alleged members of the Gülen movement have been abducted by MİT agents abroad and brought back to Turkey as part of the Turkish government’s global manhunt. Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018, that the Turkish government had jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016, and April 11, 2018, over alleged links to the Gülen movement. (stockholmcf)