The Kenyan Foreign Ministry has confirmed the deportation of four Turks whose whereabouts had been unknown since their kidnapping by unidentified individuals in Nairobi on Friday, a senior Kenyan foreign ministry official announced, Turkish Minute reported.
Kenyan Principal Secretary for Foreign Affairs Korir Sing’oei said in a statement on X on Monday that the four were repatriated to their home country on Friday at the request of Turkey.
“Kenya confirms that four Nationals of the Republic of Türkiye were repatriated to their home country on Friday, 18 October 2024, at the request of the government of Türkiye,” the statement said, adding that Kenya acceded to this request “on the strength of the robust historical and strategic relations anchored on bilateral instruments between our respective countries.”
The statement did not mention the names of the Turkish nationals, but they are believed to be Mustafa Genç, Hüseyin Yeşilsu, Öztürk Uzun and Alparslan Taşçı, who were among the seven people abducted in Nairobi on Friday. While three of the victims, including a British citizen and a minor, were later released, four others remained missing.
The statement said the four deported Turkish nationals had been residing in Kenya as refugees, adding that the ministry received assurances from the Turkish authorities that they will be treated with dignity in line with the relevant national and international laws.
For several days there were growing calls on social media from rights groups and Gülen followers to the Kenyan government to locate the missing individuals, ensure their safe return and to hold those responsible for the incident accountable.
Many have been disappointed with the news on Monday and accused the Kenyan government of violating international law by deporting individuals under UN protection.
The incident has raised concerns that the kidnappers were operating under the direction of Turkish intelligence agency MİT, which is known to employ extralegal methods, including renditions, to secure the return of Gülen movement supporters abroad.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by US-based Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Gülen died on Sunday at a hospital in the United States, where he had been living since 1999.
