Sudanese police on Wednesday detained Turkish businessman Memduh Çıkmaz at Turkey’s request as part of an investigation into the faith-based Gülen movement.
According to the AktifHaber.com website, Çıkmaz was detained in Sudan’s capital of Khartoum on Wednesday and denied a meeting with his lawyer and family.
Once recognized by former President Abdullah Gül as the third highest taxpayer in the Central Anatolian province of Çorum, Çıkmaz has been under investigation over his ties to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of being behind a failed coup last year.
The group denies involvement in the abortive coup.
According to the report, Turkey submitted a translation of a 500-page indictment to the Sudanese government seeking Çıkmaz’s deportation.
Family members are concerned over Çıkmaz’s health as he cannot eat fast food, meat and similar other foods as part of a dietary regimen prescribed due to a protein-related disease.
The family also urged international rights groups to call on Sudan not to deport Çıkmaz to Turkey, where he face arrest and potential torture.
Turkey had already detained more than 120,000 people over their ties to the movement at home before spreading its crackdown overseas. More than a dozen Turkish nationals with links to the movement were deported from several countries to Turkey, where most of them have been held in in pre-trial detention since.
A number of human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch recently issued statements urging foreign governments to avoid extraditions to Turkey. (Turkey Purge)