Media
Statement – 31/8/2019
Malaysia’s Arrest and Sending back Asylum Seeker Teacher, Wife and 4
Children back to Turkey Is Wrong and Unjust
-Respect Human Rights, Law And
Principle Of Non-Refoulement-
MADPET (Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture) is disturbed by the media report that Turkish teacher Arif
Komis and his family, who are recognized by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as asylum seekers have been arrested by the
Malaysian police and thereafter deported
back to Turkey for prosecution(Malay Mail, 30/8/2019).
It is now learnt that Komis who
arrived in Turkey with his wife and their four young children today was swiftly
detained by police.(Free Malaysia Today, 30/8/2019)
Malaysia should respect the
principle of non-refoulement especially when it comes to asylum seekers and
refugees in Malaysia, which means that Malaysia should not be arresting and
sending back these persons to countries from where they have fled from
prosecution.
The primary and universal
definition of a refugee is contained in Article 1(A)(2) of the 1951 Convention
Relating to the Status of Refugees, as amended by its 1967 Protocol, which states that ‘ a refugee as someone who: "owing
to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion,
nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is
outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is
unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country; or who, not
having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual
residence, is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it…”
An asylum-seeker is someone whose
request for sanctuary has yet to be processed.
Article 14 United Nations
Declaration of Human Rights state that ‘(1) ‘ everyone has the right to seek
and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.’ However, “(2) This
right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from
non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of
the United Nations.’
Under international human rights
law, the principle of non-refoulement guarantees that no one should be returned
to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment and other irreparable harm.
The prohibition of refoulement has
been interpreted by some courts and international human rights mechanisms to
apply to a range of serious human rights violations, including torture, and
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, flagrant denial of the right to a
fair trial, risks of violations to the rights to life and/or freedom of the
persons, serious forms of sexual and gender-based violence, death penalty or
death row, female genital mutilation, or prolonged solitary confinement, among
others.
Being a refugee or an asylum
seeker entitles the person to a number of (refugee) rights, including the right
not to be sent back to the country of origin (principle of non-refoulement).
However, the principle ought not
protect criminals like murderers, rapist, money launderers and/or those
involved in corruption and/or ‘kleptocracy’’.
There are many Malaysians in
other countries that we may not be able to bring back to Malaysia to be tried
for offences of corruption, abuse of power and ‘kleptocracy’, and MADPET
believes that they should not be protected by this principle of non-refoulement.
Neither should they be accorded status of asylum seeker and/or refugee.
Unfortunately, Malaysia still
have no written law that deals with refugees and asylum seekers, which would
also define the rights of these persons seeking such refugee status. Malaysia
has to speedily enact such a law. Without a clear law, Malaysian’s actions in
the past have been primarily political decisions made by the government (or
Executive branch of government). In a democracy, as in Malaysia, such decisions
is subject to review by the Legislative (Parliament) and/or the courts (the
Judiciary).
Malaysia, have in the past, accepted refugees and asylum
seekers from Vietnam, Burma, Palestine and other countries, and allowed them to
stay in the country. This protection have generally been accorded to persons
who are UNHCR recognized asylum seekers or refugees.
Disappointingly, the new Pakatan
Harapan led government violated this good practice when in May 2019, Malaysia
arrested and returned to Thailand a Thai National, one Praphan Pipithnamporn, who
then was a UNHCR recognized asylum
seeker.
Now the arrest and deportation back
to Turkey of Arif Komis and his family, which included their 4 children is yet
another violation of past policy and practice.
This recent sending back of also the
4 children also brings to light the concern about Malaysia’s position and concern
for the rights of the child.
There is now concern about
Malaysia’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
In the case of Indian Zakir Naik,
who may or may not even be a UNHCR recognized asylum seeker or refugee, Malaysia,
vide the former government, not only allowed him to stay in Malaysia but also
gave him a permanent residency (PR) status.
Malaysia’s new government even
rejected an extradition order from India, allegedly because Malaysia did not
believe that Zakir Naik will get a fair trial. Was this a decision in reliance
of the Malaysian law on extradition?
Section 8 of our Extradition Act
1992 provides for prohibitions against extradition in certain circumstances,
including:
(1) if the offence in respect of
which [an individual’s] return is sought is of a political character or he
proves to the Minister that the warrant for his return has in fact been made
with a view to try or punish him for an offence
of a political character;
(2) if the request for his surrender although purporting to be made for
an extradition offence was in fact made for
the purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person on account of his race,
religion, nationality or political opinions; or
(3) if he might be prejudiced at
his trial or punished or imprisoned by reason of his race, religion,
nationality or political opinions.
The refusal to return to China
the 11 ethnic Uighur Muslims in October 2018 was a commendable act.(Asahi
Shimbun, 12/10/2018), and that could have been because of there was a risk of
prosecution and/or punishment on account of race and/or religion, being one of
reasons in law not to deport back to China.
Now, with regard to the Turkish Arif
Komis and his family, Malaysia could have refused an extradition request
possibly on grounds that Turkey’s request for ‘return is sought is of a
political character’, and as such Arif should have also been accorded the right
and opportunity to prove ‘…to the Minister that the warrant for his return has
in fact been made with a view to try or punish him for an offence of a
political character..’ Was Arif and his family even given this opportunity by
the Malaysian Home Minister to do that? When was this done, and what was the Minister’s
decision? The Minister, according to the Act is the Minister of Home Affairs.
Malaysia could also refuse to
send Arif and his family back to Turkey as it was ‘… was in fact made for the
purpose of prosecuting or punishing the person on account of his ….political opinions..’
or ‘…he might be prejudiced at his trial or punished or imprisoned by reason of
his … political opinions…’
As, it can be argued, Malaysia may
have had many legal reasons in Malaysian law to reject Turkey’s request that
Malaysia send him and his family back to Turkey. What happened to people send
back in the past would also be a consideration.
The Malay Mail report also
disclosed that one of other Turkish sent back to Turkey in 2017 was not even
accorded a fair trial. ‘In 2017, three Turkish men associated with Gulen —
Turgay Karaman, İhsan Aslan and İsmet Özçelik — were deported from Malaysia to
Turkey despite international warnings over the risk of torture. Ozcelik, a
Turkish academic, in July was given a jail sentence of almost 10 years without
even being able to present his final defence…’(Malay Mail). He certainly did
not get a fair trial.
As such, the Malaysian
government, especially the Minister of Home Affairs, must now provide an
assurance that Malaysian law was adhered to in this particular case, and further
that Malaysia is not in violation of the principle of non-refoulement.
Malaysia also must clarify its
position as to whether Malaysia will still recognize UNHCR’s recognition of
asylum seekers and/or refugees in Malaysia, and if so, will Malaysia protect
such persons and no more return them to the very countries they are fleeing
from in breach of the principle of non-refoulement.
If not, then even UN recognized
asylum seekers or refugees are no longer safe in Malaysia, and the United
Nations must immediately take steps to remove all such asylum seekers and/or
refugees from Malaysia to a safer country. This will be a most embarrassing for
Malaysia.
In the event that Malaysia cannot
give the needed assurance, UNHCR may have to move out of Malaysia, for after
all Malaysia may be a destination country for potential asylum seekers and/or
refugees because there is a UNHCR office in the country.
Malaysia’s positive image for its
stance against human rights violations by Israel and even Myanmmar, amongst others,
may now be impacted by these recent violations of the principle of
non-refoulement of asylum seekers, more so UNHCR recognized asylum seekers.
MADPET reiterates its call for
Malaysia to speedily enact a Malaysian law on Refugees and Asylum Seekers,
wherein there will be process on how Malaysia will determine who is asylum
seeker and/or refugee, and their rights in Malaysia.
MADPET also urges Malaysia to
clarify its position when it comes to UNHCR recognized asylum seekers and/or
refugees, including guaranteeing that Malaysia will no more in the future violate
the principle of non-refoulement;
MADPET also urges the Malaysian
Government including the Minister of Home Affairs Muhyiddin Yassin to provide an explanation and
legal basis as to why Arif Komis, his wife and their 4 children were arrested
and returned to Turkey; and
MADPET reminds Malaysia that
human rights must never be sacrificed for reasons of maintaining or improving
political and economic relations with other countries.
Charles Hector
For and on behalf of MADPET (Malaysians Against Death
Penalty and Torture)
****
Malaysia to deport Turkish teacher under UN protection?
KOTA KINABALU, Aug 30 — Turkish teacher Arif Komis and his family who
are protected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) have been taken by the police to be deported home for
prosecution, according to several human rights activists.
Turkey-based human rights website Turkeypurge.com said it
received an email from eyewitnesses claiming that Komis, his wife and
four children were nabbed two nights ago from their home in Kuala Lumpur
and are currently being held at an immigration centre near Putrajaya
where they are being processed for deportation at the request of the
Turkish government.
“Mr Komis, who is a chemistry teacher, was repeatedly denied passport
by the Turkish Embassy and thus given protection by the UN. He and his
family are in UN protection,” Turkeypurge wrote.
According to the news portal, Komis was working at a group of schools
affiliated with the Gülen movement, which Malaysia has deemed a terror
group that has been accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of
masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Malay Mail has contacted UNHCR and the Immigration Department to verify the allegations and is waiting for a reply.
The Komis family’s alleged arrest and possible deportation was also
tweeted by human rights group Global Rights Issue and Human Rights
Watch’s Asia division deputy director Phil Robertson, who urged
Malaysian authorities not to send them back to Turkey where they are at
danger of persecution.
“Where’s Malaysia civil society to protect this Turkish person of
concern to UNHCR and family? Why is the Pakatan Harapan government
violating refugee rights in this way? Why’s a simple school teacher
treated so shoddily? Don’t send him back to Turkey!” Robertson tweeted, tagging Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.
Some other Twitter users replying to the post have compared and
contrasted the treatment of the Turk to that of controversial
Mumbai-born Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, who Malaysia refuses to
deport home to India where he faces money laundering and terror-related
charges.
Other social media users also asked if it is acceptable for Malaysia to forcibly deport someone under UN protection.
Dr Mahathir pledged his Pakatan Harapan government’s support for the
Turkish government under Erdogan during a visit to the republic last
month, and said Malaysia will continue to crack down on members of the
Gulen group, also known as the Gulenist Terror Organisation (Feto).
Malaysia previously extradited wanted men by the Turkish government
suspected of involvement with Feto, in what Ankara claimed is a group
led by US-based exile preacher Fethullah Gulen.
In 2017, three Turkish men associated with Gulen — Turgay Karaman,
İhsan Aslan and İsmet Özçelik — were deported from Malaysia to Turkey
despite international warnings over the risk of torture.
Ozcelik, a Turkish academic, in July was given a jail sentence of
almost 10 years without even being able to present his final defence.
Karaman, a school principal, was also sentenced to six years in prison
the same month.
Feto is gazetted as a terror group, but only by Turkey and the
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation — of which Malaysia is a member. The
UN objected and demanded that Turkey release the men and pay them
compensation. - Malay Mail, 30/8/2019
Malaysian police detain UN-protected family at Turkey’s request
Malaysian police have detained a Turkish teacher and his family working at a group of schools affiliated with the Gülen group, which is accused by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of masterminding a failed coup attempt in 2016.
According to an e-mail sent to Turkeypurge editors, Arif Komis, a Turkish teacher, and his famiyl members are currently held in a detention center at the Immigration Office near Putrajaya. They are believed to be detained upon a request by the Turkish government, and thus face deportation to Turkey
According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Komiş, his wife and 4 kids were detained in a house raid in Kuala Lumpur late on August 28, 2019. They are likely to be sent to Turkey for prosecution.
Mr. Komis, who is a chemistry teacher, was repeatedly denied passport by the Turkish Embassy and thus given protection by the UN. He and his family are in UN protection.
Over 100 Gulenists forcibly returned to Turkey so far: minister
More than 100 people were forcibly returned from abroad as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup crackdown against the Gulen movement, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.Speaking to media on the second anniversary of the July 15, 2016 failed coup, Cavusoglu said the government rounded up over 100 such people abroad and brought them back to Turkey as part of investigations.
“We brought back several leading FETO members from abroad. It made it into the news on some occasions and didn’t on others. We didn’t speak about some of those in the media at the request of the countries they were brought from. We can say that we have brought back over 100 leading FETO members from several countries,” Cavusoglu said.
Pro-government Daily Sabah reported last week that Turkey’s Foreign Ministry has located 4,600 suspected followers of the Gulen movement in 110 countries so far.
Turkish president Erdoğan accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding a failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016 and calls it FETO [short for the alleged Fethullahist Terrorist Organization] while the latter denies involvement in the coup and any terrorist activities.
More than 150,000 people have been detained and 90,000 were remanded in prison over Gulen links in Turkey since the summer of 2016. Meanwhile, Erdogan called on foreign governments to punish Gulenists in their own countries.
So far, a number of countries like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Georgia and Myanmar handed over academics, businessmen and school principals upon the Turkish government’s request despite the fact that some of those victims already had refugee status with the United Nations.
On some occasions, Turkish intelligence agency was reported to have abducted the suspected Gulenists overseas despite rulings by local courts turning down Turkey’s requests for deportation. - Turkey Purge, 29/8/2019
Malaysia to deport Turkish family upon request from Ankara claiming Gülen links: report
A Turkish family under UN protection in Malaysia is
being held at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by local officials who are
planning to deport them upon a request from Turkey on accusations of membership
in the faith-based Gülen movement, according to the Kronos news website.
Malaysian police on Wednesday evening detained Arif
Komiş, who was an executive at the Gülen-linked Hibiskus International School, along
with his family, the report said.
According to an official document on its website, the UN
provided protection to the Komiş family on June 12 after they filed an
application for asylum.
The UN in mid-August moved six Gülen-linked teachers
from Mongolia to Canada after accepting their asylum applications due to
imminent threats from the Turkish government.
In 2017 three Turkish nationals were detained and
deported to Turkey by Malaysian officials upon a request from Ankara.
Turkey accuses the Gülen movement of orchestrating a
2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.
Since the failed coup, over 100 individuals have been brought back to
Turkey from abroad, while many other countries, most recently Brazil,
have rejected Ankara’s requests.
Turkey has been conducting a massive post-coup crackdown targeting Gülen movement followers.- Turkish Minute, 29/8/2019
Jailed Turkish teacher held in prison for 12 days despite serious risk of congestive heart failure: son
İsmet Özçelik,
a Turkish academic wo was abducted and rendered from Malaysia to Turkey
and later sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months in prison, has still been
held in prison despite having suffered a cardiac problem for over twelve
days.
Özçelik son’s Suat Özçelik tweeted Saturday that his father has been denied medical procedure for days.
“Today is the 12th day. My father has not yet been taken to a doctor for any medical purposes,” Özçelik tweeted.
İsmet Özçelik was deported in 2017 from Malaysia to Turkey, where he was accused of having ties to the network of Fethullah Gülen, a cleric who Ankara says sought an uprising the previous year.
A year later, he was sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months on charges of membership and propaganda of Gulen movement via social media.
Özçelik was indicted on charges of depositing money to now-closed Islamic lender Bank Asya, which was linked to the Gülen movement, and using the ByLock smartphone application, which is claimed to be the main tool of communication among followers of the movement by Turkish authorities.
Both acts are considered criminal activity by the Turkish judiciary, which has been harshly criticized for acting on orders from the government. - Turkish Purge, 10/8/2019
Özçelik son’s Suat Özçelik tweeted Saturday that his father has been denied medical procedure for days.
“Today is the 12th day. My father has not yet been taken to a doctor for any medical purposes,” Özçelik tweeted.
İsmet Özçelik was deported in 2017 from Malaysia to Turkey, where he was accused of having ties to the network of Fethullah Gülen, a cleric who Ankara says sought an uprising the previous year.
A year later, he was sentenced to 9 yrs and 11 months on charges of membership and propaganda of Gulen movement via social media.
Özçelik was indicted on charges of depositing money to now-closed Islamic lender Bank Asya, which was linked to the Gülen movement, and using the ByLock smartphone application, which is claimed to be the main tool of communication among followers of the movement by Turkish authorities.
Both acts are considered criminal activity by the Turkish judiciary, which has been harshly criticized for acting on orders from the government. - Turkish Purge, 10/8/2019
Activists, rights groups blast Putrajaya after family of 6 sent back to Turkey
PETALING JAYA: Two prominent activists have condemned Putrajaya after
a Turkish national and his family were handed over to Ankara, despite
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) classifying
him a “person of concern” who could be harmed if he was forcibly
returned to his home country.
Prominent Muslim spokesman Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa and former ambassador
Dennis Ignatius said the latest action of deporting Arif Komis, his
wife and their young children was shameful and proof that the present
ruling coalition’s commitment to defend human rights was a sham.
“We voted them into power thinking that the standard of human rights
would improve. But they are just another group of arrogant politicians
who only talk without having anything in effect,” Farouk, who heads the
Islamic Renaissance Front told FMT.
Dennis contrasted the treatment meted out to Komis with
government leaders’ repeated defence of Indian Muslim preacher Dr Zakir
Naik, who has been charged in absentia in India with money laundering.
Dennis recalled a statement by Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah’s
assurance that Putrajaya would be more careful in “sending people back”,
with a promise to scrutinise extradition requests based on the spirit
of human rights, freedom and the rule of law.
“Now we are left to wonder whether all those grand statements about
human rights are just empty rhetoric, a mere ruse to justify the
government’s refusal to deport Zakir Naik,” the outspoken former envoy
told FMT.
FMT has learnt that Komis who arrived in Turkey with his wife and
their four young children today was swiftly detained by police.
His deportation comes some two years after Malaysia fulfilled a
similar request by the Turkish government to deport three of its
nationals from Malaysia, which drew strong reactions from rights groups.
Ankara accuses Komis, who works at a Turkish private school in Kuala
Lumpur, of links to the Gulen group, a faith-based social movement
inspired by the teachings of exiled Turkish Muslim preacher Fethullah
Gulen.
The Turkish government and official media call the group
Feto, or Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, and has accused it of
masterminding the failed coup in 2016.
Farouk described the move to deport Komis as the latest in a long
chain of incidents “that was like a knife that strikes deep into our
hearts”, and warned that Malaysia risked being known as a “pariah state”
in the eyes of the international community for its disregard of human
rights and rule of law.
Farouk took to task Saifuddin for not fulfilling a promise to observe
an SOP to ensure that no one will be victimised by deportations.
He said following the outrage by rights groups over Malaysia’s
deportation of four men to the Egyptian military regime earlier this
year, Saifuddin had said that future cases would be referred to his
ministry first.
“But it seems that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is
doing. And that the police have their own SOP and were oblivious of any
such rule or regulations by Wisma Putra.
“To me it only shows how incompetent the foreign minister is in
ensuring that human rights is observed in the new Malaysia,” said
Farouk.
Dennis said the policy of deporting exiles wanted by authoritarian
regimes was a shameful practice under the previous government, and was
done to appease fellow Muslim states.
“It also raises the question of double standards – those fleeing
persecution or prosecution from non-Muslim countries are given special
protection whereas Muslims fleeing well-documented persecution from
their own governments are sent back. It is imperative that the
government adopts a fair and transparent policy for all such cases in
the interest of upholding the rule of law,” he said.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International described the move to send back the Komis family as “deplorable”
“The family is at risk of serious human rights violations or abuses
back in their country,” said Amnesty Malaysia’s executive director
Shamini Darshni Kaliemuthu.
“The Malaysian authorities must never deport individuals where there
is clear evidence of the human rights violations they may face at their
destination,” she said, adding that Komis must be released “unless there
is credible evidence of internationally recognisable criminal acts”.
Earlier, Human Rights Watch said the Pakatan Harapan government under
Dr Mahathir Mohamad was “turning out to be just as bad as Najib and
Barisan Nasional” in failing to protect refugees.
“This is a schoolteacher and his family who are persons of concern to
UNHCR, with legal documents to work in Malaysia. They should be
released and allowed to seek refugee protection,” HRW’s deputy Asia
director Phil Robertson told FMT.
Komis is an asylum-seeker registered with the UNHCR office in Malaysia.
FMT has sighted a letter by the UNHCR urging Komis not to be deported
to Turkey pending a decision on his application for refugee status.
FMT has reached out to the UNHCR for comments and is awaiting their
response. The Turkish embassy in Malaysia has meanwhile refused to
comment on the matter. - FMT, 30/8/2019
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