NGOs claim Cabuk’s case is “politically motivated”
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, July 12
Georgian Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have criticized the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees of Georgia for not granting the status of refugee to detained Turkish citizen Mustafa Emre Cabuk and his family.
The NGOs have released a joint statement which reads that the decision of the ministry is “illegal, unreasonable and politically motivated”.
Mustafa Cabuk, who has been sentenced to three-month pre-extradition detention, is accused of heaving links to the FETO organization, registered in the United States and associated with Fethullah Gulen, accused of orchestrating a military coup attempt in Turkey on 15 July, 2016.
The civil organizations say the decision of the ministry is “obviously unreasonable, arbitrary and unreasonable expression of political loyalty towards the undemocratic regime of Turkey”.
Moreover, the NGOs say that the statement of the Refugee Ministry, which claims that in case of extradition to Turkey Cabuk will be placed in a European-standard cell and his rights will not be violated, is unreasonable.
The statement reads that torture practice in Turkey has been denounced and condemned by various international organizations in various times, even recently.
“The information indicated in the decision of the Ministry as if Georgia has received diplomatic guarantees on the protection of the rights of Mustafa Chabuk, raises doubt that the Georgian government plans to extradite him to Turkey in the future, which will be complete neglect a violation of fundamental human rights,” the NGOs say.
The statement calls on the ministry to make the decision which will be in line with human rights standards.
It also applies to the Ministry of Justice and the government of Georgia asking them not to extradite Cabuk to Turkey.
Moreover, the NGOs call on Parliament to understand the political and social contexts of Chabuk's case and provide effective parliamentary control over the case.
The Ministry of Refugees explained that Cabuk “didn’t meet” the demands for refugee status and that the situations in Turkish courts and prisons were positively assessed by foreign organizations.
The Ministry claims that Cabuk’s life won’t be under threat in his homeland, for alleged links with Fethullah Gulen, as the people detained with the same charge felt well.
Tuba Cabuk, wife of the detained Turkish citizen, also asks for special state protection from the Chief Prosecutor of Georgia.
She says that she is receiving threats via social networks from Turkish individuals, who call on certain groups to find Cabuk’s family and kill them.
Furthermore, Tuba Cabuk is going to appeal the Ministry’s decision to the court.
Mustafa Emre Cabuk has been living in Georgia for 15 years. From 2016 he has served as a Quality Management Manager of Demirel Private College, and as he says he has been carrying out only educational activities in Georgia.
