Orhan İnandı, the founder and president of the Turkish-Kyrgyz Sapat school network operating in Kyrgyzstan went missing in front of his house in Bishkek on Monday and is feared to have been abducted by Turkey’s spy agency due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, according to a statement from the school network.
Turkey claims that the founder of the school network is the Turkish-Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, whose movement is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the coup attempt.
İnandı was last contacted by his family at 8 pm on Monday after he left his house for a meeting at a nearby café. A Lexus automobile, which belonged to İnandı, was found in an area close to his house, with its doors open at 3 am on Tuesday. His family immediately notified the Kyrgyz police about the disappearance of the teacher, demanding an urgent investigation into his whereabouts.
“His jacket and two phones were in the car. Although I do not have any eyewitnesses, I suspect that he was abducted and taken to Turkey, and I am concerned about the safety of his life,” said İnandı’s wife in a press statement on Tuesday.
The Sapat (formerly Sebat) network of educational institutions has been operating in Kyrgyzstan since 1992. Since 2017, the school network has been run by the Kyrgyz Republic. There are 16 high schools, one international university, one international school and three primary schools operating under the school network.
İnandı had been working in Kyrgyzstan since 1995 and had been the president of the schools since 2001. The statement from the Sapat schools said İnandı received the title of “Excellence in Education of the Kyrgyz Republic” in 2002 and was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Kyrgyz Republic, in 2003 the “Dank” medal of the Kyrgyz Republic for his contribution to the improvement of the education system in the country.
İnandı also acquired the citizenship of the Kyrgyz Republic.
People close to the family said there were two planes waiting at the airports in Bishkek and Uzbek capital of Tashkent, which are not listed on the flight lists of any of the airline companies operating at these airports, which raised suspicions these planes may be used to return the teacher to Turkey where he will possibly face a prosecution.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has cracked down hard on alleged Gülen supporters, arresting or dismissing more than 100,000 public servants, and urging foreign governments to hand over suspects since the failed coup.
The İnandı incident follows the enforced disappearance of nearly 30 people with real or alleged links to the Gülen movement since the coup attempt.
Mostly recently, Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) arrested and brought back to Turkey Selahattin Gülen, a teacher and a nephew of Islamic scholar Gülen living in Kenya.
Some of the enforced disappearance victims in Turkey have spoken out in court, after they were found in police custody, recounting the systematic and severe torture they were subjected to during their interrogation by government operatives, who, victims said, waited until their wounds had healed to hand them over to the police.
According to a recent report by Freedom House on global transnational repression Turkey has become number one among countries that have conducted renditions from host states since 2014. The Turkish government has pursued its perceived enemies in at least 30 different host countries spread across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia since July 2016.
“Ankara’s campaign has primarily targeted people affiliated with the movement of religious leader Fethullah Gülen, which the government blames for the coup attempt,” the report said.