Turkish citizen detained on extradition request

Maputo, 2 Jan (AIM) – Mozambique’s Criminal Investigation Service (Sernic) has denied that a Turkish citizen has been kidnapped in Maputo.

In fact, a Sernic release announced, the man in question, Emre Cinar, was detained on Tuesday “under an extradition process requested by the Turkish authorities”.

Sernic claimed that the detention took place “in strict accordance with the legal formalities, and did not constitute any act of kidnapping or arbitrary deprivation of freedom, as has been unduly claimed in some of the media”.

The note claimed that Sernic “reaffirms its respect for human rights, for the observance of procedural legality, and for the promotion of institutional transparency”.

Emre Cinar is director of the Willow International School, a prominent private school, with facilities in Maputo and the neighbouring city of Matola, which includes the children of prominent Mozambicans among its students.

Despite the claims by Sernic that everything had been done in accordance with Mozambican law, the school’s lawyers told the independent television station, TV Sucesso, that they had no idea where Emre Cinar was being held, or what offence he has supposedly committed.

The lawyers said they had visited prisons in Maputo and the adjoining city of Matola and had not found Cinar. Furthermore, the only warrant shown for his arrest was a mobile phone screen shot.

They said they could not comment on whether there were any political motivations for the detention, notably whether it had anything to do with the abortive coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016.

According to Sernic, the arrest warrant was issued by a court, and Cinar will now be presented to an investigating magistrate for the next steps in the extradition.

The Willow International School claims to have about 1,500 students, from kindergarten through to secondary school. Its website says the school’s mission “is to provide a world class education that fosters academic excellence, critical thinking and global citizenship”.

(AIM)

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