KUALA LUMPUR: The wife of a Turkish man currently held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) is urging people to stop linking her husband to two other Turkish citizens also detained under the same act.
Speaking on behalf of Ihsan Aslan’s wife, lawyer Noor Svetlana Mohd Noor Nordin said Aslan’s situation was different from that of his countrymen, Turgay Karaman and Ismet Ozcelik.
Aslan and Karaman were detained on May 2, while Ozcelik was also arrested under Sosma last week in connection with terrorist activities.
Ozcelik had previously been arrested on Dec 13 over immigration issues after his passport was cancelled by the Turkish government. He later obtained a UNHCR card and remained here as a refugee.
Putrajaya explained that the arrests were made after police obtained information from the Regional Digital Counter-Messaging Centre (CMC).
“Aslan’s wife and child are Malaysians and besides that, the background of Aslan is also different from the two men.
“When I spoke to Aslan, he told me he doesn’t know one of the suspects, while the other was merely an acquaintance,” Noor Svetlana told FMT when met outside the Bukit Aman headquarters today.
Aslan, a businessman, has been in Malaysia for 15 years.
Karaman is the principal of Time International School in Ipoh, Perak.
Ozcelik, meanwhile, is a member of Turkey’s Universiti Mevlana’s board of directors.
Earlier today, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the three Turkish citizens will be deported to their home country despite pleas from their families not to do so out of fear for their safety following Turkey’s ongoing crackdown on critics of the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
While Noor Svetlana hoped that Aslan would not be detained for 28 days, as stipulated under Sosma, she said she would accept the authorities’ decision to do so if they had reasonable grounds.
Aslan’s wife, Ainnurul Aisyah Yunos Ali Maricar, said she was grateful she was able to meet her husband for an hour today. It was the first time they had met since his arrest on May 2.
“When I asked if it was possible for me to see him again, they told me I needed to apply to do so.
“The process isn’t too difficult and the police were cooperative. I just hope he is freed as soon as possible,” Ainnurul said.
