Two prominent Kenyan law associations called on authorities to investigate the abduction of four Turkish refugees and to prevent their forcible return to Turkey, in separate statements issued on Saturday.
In its statement, the Kenyan section of the International Commission of Jurists emphasized that Kenya has a legal and moral obligation under international law to protect all refugees from refoulement, which refers to the forced return to countries where they face persecution.
“The Kenyan government must urgently act to locate the missing Turkish asylum seekers,” the statement signed by read. “[It must] ensure their safety, and prevent their forced return to Turkey, where they are at grave risk of persecution.”
Seven individuals were kidnapped by unknown assailants in Nairobi on Friday. While three of the victims, including a British citizen and a minor, were later released, four others remain missing.
The statement also urged the United Nations and the international community to “remain vigilant in monitoring these concerning developments.” The four missing individuals had previously been granted protection by the UN.
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.
President of the Law Society of Kenya, a bar association with over 20,000 members, also issued a statement about the incident. In a post shared on X, Faith Odhiambo said the Law Society of Kenya “condemns the heinous violations of human rights and calls for immediate investigations to identify the perpetrators and locate the four missing persons.”
Odhiambo further noted that the Kenyan government has obligations under international law to protect the rights of all individuals residing in the country. “Such acts of contempt against our sovereignty and constitutionalism cannot be condoned,” she said.
Since 2016, MİT has conducted operations for the forcible return of more than 100 people with alleged links to the Gülen movement. The latest cases include Koray Vural, a Turkish businessman who went missing in Tajikistan in September 2023 and was found to be in police custody in Turkey the next month. Emsal Koç, who also went missing Tajikistan in June 2023, was found to be in police custody in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum when the police contacted his family living in the province.
According to a 2023 report by Freedom House on transnational repression, Turkey has become the world’s second most prolific perpetrator of transnational repression. A wide range of tactics used by the Turkish government against its critics abroad include spying through diplomatic missions and pro-government diaspora organizations, denial of consular services and outright intimidation and illegal renditions.
