The local police in Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday detained for deportation a Turkish national with permanent residency upon a request from Ankara on allegations of membership of the faith-based Gülen movement, the Bold Medya news website reported.
Fatih Keskin, the principal of Una-Sana College, an institute operating within the Gülen-affiliated Richmond Park Schools Group, was invited to a police station in Bihać city by the Ministry of Interior of the Una-Sana Canton, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency reported, citing local media.
Soon after being taken into custody, Keskin was transferred to a detention center for migrants in the capital city of Sarajevo to start the deportation process, Anadolu said.
The move came hours after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hinted at new operations to capture Gülenists living in Europe before he left for London to attend a summit.
Ankara accuses Fethullah Gülen, a US-based cleric in a self-exile, of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, a claim that is strongly denied by the movement.
The foreign affairs department of the Bihac Ministry of Security revoked the residency permits of four Turkish nationals in September, following the Turkish government’s extradition request according to Anadolu. The case was then taken to a local court.
Keskin’s lawyer, Nedim Ademovic, confirmed that his client, who has been living in the country for more than 14 years with his family, was detained by the Bosnian authorities.
Keskin told Bold on the phone that he was being kept in a detention center in Sarajevo where refugees are held for deportation.
“I was invited to the police station at around 10 a.m. in Bihac and was told I had violated the rules in Bosnia; hence my residency was revoked. When I asked which rules I had violated, the officers said they did not even know,” Keskin said.
He said two police officers transported him to Sarajevo, refusing to show any official documentation and denying him time to meet with his lawyer.
“They did not let me call my lawyer. ‘If you resist, we will handcuff you,’ the two police officers told me.”
In March 2018 Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) with the cooperation of Kosovar authorities detained six Turkish nationals, who were then taken to Turkey, where they were arrested.
As of March 2019, a total of 107 people with alleged links to the movement have been brought to Turkey since the failed 2016 coup, following extradition requests for 504 people sent to 91 countries, Anadolu reported.
Bosnian police have arrested the head of a school linked to the arch-foe of Turkey’s powerful president, raising fears that Turkey’s long arm is behind the detention.
Fatih Keskin, director of Richmond Park Schools in Bihac in northwest Bosnia, was arrested on Tuesday after his permanent residence permit was revoked for unknown reasons apparently related to national security.
Harun Tursanovic, Richmond Park Schools Public Relations Officer, confirmed to BIRN that Keskin had been arrested and was currently in a detention centre in Lukavica, Eastern Sarajevo.
“The arrest is full of irregularities,” he said. “First, he was called to visit the police Station in Una-Sava Canton … and there told that his residence permit was revoked.
“He was also forced to sign some documents and when he refused was brought to Sarajevo,” Tursanovic told BIRN.
Tursanovic said he suspected the Turkish government’s role in the process.
This is because Bosnia – like other Balkan countries – has come under strong pressure from Ankara to extradite alleged “Gulenists” – followers of the exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, a hate figure for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“This was a surprising move for us, as Keskin had a permanent residence permit,” Tursanovic noted.
“The Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, SPS, had previously told us that all those with permanent resident permits would not have any problems over Turkish demands – but now this is happening. The unusual process hints at the role of an outsider effect, which is the Turkish government in this case,” Tursanovic said.
A lawyer, Nedim Ademovic who is defending 10 of the people on Erdogan’s list, met Keskin and officials from the SPS on Wednesday morning.
“We were told that Keskin’s residence permit was revoked for reasons related to national security. They avoided giving us solid reasons,” Tursanovic said.
“We will challenge the decision and we hope that the courts will deliver justice,” Tursanovic added.
SPS Director Slobodan Ujic confirmed on December 3 that Keskin had been detained.
“The SPS is not doing something for nothing. We had operational data and will interview [him] and further verify the data,” he said.
But Tursanovic said that, because of this, other teachers working for the school chain no longer feel safe, calling the decision very concerning.
The Turkish government accuses Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, of being behind a failed coup attempt in 2016. He has denied this.
But since the failed coup, Ankara has referred to Gulen’s movement as the Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation or FETO for short.
Since then, Ankara has arrested tens of thousands of people, fired hundreds of thousands from public service jobs and closed down thousands of companies, NGOs and educational institutions because of their alleged links with the “FETO”.
Erdogan’s government has also exerted maximum pressure on Balkan states to hand over alleged Gulenists and to close down any institution related to the cleric’s movement.
Keskin had been living in Bosnia for more than 15 years, working as a teacher and school director. He was reportedly not on Erdogan’s list but could still face extradition.
Richmond Park Schools, formerly known as Bosna Sema Schools, is currently owned by a British educational firm. It runs 14 schools including a university in Sarajevo.
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Zehra Kanter Keskin wife of Fatih Keskin pleads for her
Criminal husband on Social Media ....and no one cares. |
The wife of Richmond Park Schools principal Fatih Keskin, a Turkish citizen who was residing in Bosnia for the past 20 years and was taken to a yet unknown location on Tuesday after speaking to police in the northwestern Una-Sana Canton, said in a video posted online that she fears for her husband’s safety.
“I am the wife of Fatih Keskin, who was illegally taken to Sarajevo today after speaking to the police. My husband has been working in education in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 15 years and he tries to contribute in every way to this country, which he sees as his homeland,” Zehra Kantar Keskin said in a video she posted on social media on Wednesday.
https://www.dailysabah.com/war-on-terror/2019/12/04/bosnia-detains-feto-school-administrator-preparing-to-extradite-to-turkey
DAILY SABAH WITH AA
ISTANBUL
Published
04.12.2019
19:32
Bosnia-Herzegovina detained an administrator in one of the schools run by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) in the country, Bosnian media outlets reported on Tuesday.
Fatih Keskin, who is from Turkey, was the manager of a FETÖ high school in Bihac province. He was detained on Tuesday after being called by the police to give his testimony. Following the detention, Keskin was reportedly transferred to a migration center to launch his extradition process to Turkey.
While police forces of the province have not released an official statement on the issue, Nedim Ademovic, a lawyer for some FETÖ fugitives that Turkey wants extradited, confirmed the detention.
Ademovic said that Keskin has lived in Bosnia for more than 20 years with his family.
Anadolu Agency reported that the high school that Keskin was working at was initially known as "Una-Sana College" under the Bosna Sema Education Institutions. However, later on, the school was transferred to the English Richmond Park Schools on paper and renamed the "Richmond Park Bihac College."
With a debt of more than 2.5 million euros ($2.88 million), property owned by the FETÖ-linked Richmond Park Schools is being sold off by the bank after the loan agreement was violated, said the weekly Bosnian magazine Stav in 2018. With this development, the educational institution has reportedly twice changed ownership since the 2016 defeated coup attempt but failed to inform the bank.
The magazine said fighting such FETÖ-linked institutions is not just a Turkish effort against the terror group but a domestic problem as long as the same structures operate in Bosnia-Herzegovina and try to indoctrinate children with a "sick" ideology.
FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen orchestrated a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, killing 251 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others in the process. FETÖ also has a considerable presence outside of Turkey, including private educational institutions that serve as revenue streams for the terrorist group.
FETÖ has a considerable presence abroad, particularly in the U.S., where it runs a chain of charter schools that are also a huge source of income for the terrorist group.
The terrorist group relies on a global network of schools and businesses for new recruits, lobbying and financing its activities. Turkey says
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/bosnia-detains-head-of-feto-terror-group-run-school/1662946
Keskin later was detained at the station and then transferred to an immigration center for deportation proceedings, presumably to Turkey.
While there was no official statement yet from local police, attorney Nedim Ademovic confirmed Keskin's detention.
Ademovic said that Keskin has been living in Bosnia and Herzegovina with his family for more than 20 years.
The high school in the city of Bihac was operated under the name Una-Sana College, and later was renamed Richmond Park Bihac College.
The Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup on July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Turkey also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
FETO also has a considerable presence outside Turkey, including private educational institutions that serve as a revenue stream for the terrorist group.
Since the defeated coup attempt, Turkey has pressed European countries for the extradition of FETO suspects, and has expressed frustration over the lack of cooperation by many countrie
