Former Director of Zaman School Arrested
22/10/19 02:14
Phnom Penh (FN), Oct. 21 – Cambodian police have arrested the Turkish-Mexican Osman Karaca, former director of Zaman International School, in the capital Phnom Penh on the alleged charged of terrorism committed in Turkey.

National Police Spokesperson General Chhay Kim Khoeun told Fresh News that Osman Karaca was arrested on 14 October 2019 and sent to Turkey on 18 October 2019.

The arrest of Osman Karaca was done based on the agreement signed between the two countries in a recent visit of Cambodian Minister of Interior Sar Kheng to Turkey, said Interior Spokesperson General Khieu Sopheak.

Osman Karaca was blamed for financially supporting Gulen for the coup attempt against the current Turkish President Erdogan.

In Turkey’s three-year purge since the coup attempt in 2016, more than 77,000 people have been jailed pending trial and about 150,000 civil servants, military personnel and others have been sacked or suspended from their jobs, according Reuters’ report dated 18 October 2019.
=FRESH NEWS

As an aside, Cambodia's Minister of the Interior, Sar Kheng, met with the Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu on an official visit to Turkey in July this year.
July 27, 2019

“During his visit, interior minister Sar Kheng will meet with Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu and will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the security sector between both governments,” the interior ministry said.

newsworthy/cambodian-diplomacy-embassie ... cy#p351591

Latest 19/10/19:
[Non-official translation from Turkish]
This item says that Anatolya news agency has reported that the arrest of Osman Karaca, former director of Zaman International School, was made in collaboration with the Turkish National Intelligence Organization, and that Karaca was transported to Turkey following his arrest in Cambodia. For the moment, this information remains neither confirmed or denied.
https://tr.euronews.com/2019/10/19/gule ... tutuklandi

No extradition treaty I guess. But, things have been getting very chummy with Turkey this year, and maybe for a while before.

AFAIK Cambodia has very few extradition treaties - I might be behind the times, but I'm pretty sure that a while ago, last time I checked, they had extradition treaties with only two other countries.

Wiki User
06/26/2012

What countries have an extradition treaty with Cambodia?
Only Thailand and China have extradition treaties (not ratified by Cambodia) with Cambodia under the UNTOC and OECD.
https://www.answers.com/Q/What_countrie ... h_Cambodia

But, maybe Vietnam now too ? Anyway, not Turkey.

October 22, 2019
Cambodia deports Turkish national accused of “acts of terrorism”

Cambodian authorities yesterday confirmed the deportation of Osman Karaca, a Turkish-Mexican man wanted by Turkish authorities for allegedly being linked to a failed military coup in 2016.

National Police spokesman Lieutenant General Chhay Kim Khoeun yesterday said Mr Karaca was arrested in Phnom Penh on October 14 before he was handed over to the Turkish government on Friday.

“We arrested him on October 14, and now he has already been deported to Turkey,” Lt Gen Kim Khoeun said. “Turkish authorities are accusing him of being involved in acts of terrorism and they requested that we arrest him and cooperate with them.”

The Anadolu, a state-run media agency, reported that Mr Karaca was arrested by the Turkish National Intelligence Organisation and charged with “founding and masterminding an armed terrorist organisation”.

Mr Karaca was the former director of Zaman International School in Phnom Penh. In 2016, then-Turkish Ambassador Ilhan Tug called on Cambodia to close down the school. It was then renamed to Paragon International School.

Grace Lalrinmawii Karaca, Mr Karaca’s wife, said in a statement sent to media last week that her husband’s deportation violated international laws.

“Any effort to forcibly transfer Mr Osman Karaca to any country where he may face torture, ill-treatment and a real risk to his life violates the obligations of Cambodia under domestic and international law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture,” Ms Karaca said.

When asked if the National Police were concerned that Mr Karaca’s deportation could lead to serious human rights violations, Lt Gen Kim Khoeun said Cambodian police were only enforcing the law.

“They had an arrest warrant, we cannot keep him in our country,” he said.

Interior Ministry spokesman General Khieu Sopheak yesterday said Mr Karaca’s arrest and deportation was made possible by the signing of a recent security cooperation agreement with Turkey.

The agreement was signed in Ankara in July by Interior Minister Sar Kheng and his counterpart Süleyman Soylu.

Justice Ministry spokesman Chin Malin yesterday said Cambodia does not have an extradition agreement with Turkey, but the Kingdom was still able to deliver Mr Karaca to Ankara.

“We have no extradition agreement with Turkey yet, but we have the right to do so based on the security cooperation agreement [signed in July],” Mr Malin said.

According to Article 573 of the Criminal Procedure Code, “an extradition order may not be issued where the prosecuted facts are of political nature”.

It noted that only those who are accused of violent acts can be extradited.

Mr Malin said Mr Karaca was deported because he was considered to be a “criminal”.

“If he was wanted because of his political tendencies, we cannot deport him to Turkey, but we considered him to be a person who committed criminal offences,” Mr Malin said.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50653201/c ... -national/

Turkey, Cambodia called on to implement UN body decision on expelled educator
By Turkish Minute -
March 16, 2021 416


The New York-based Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF) has called on the governments of Turkey and Cambodia to implement a decision against the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of Turkey made by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) in the case of an expelled educator.

During its 88th session, on November 26, 2020, WGAD concluded that the arrest, detention and forcible transfer of Turkish-Mexican national Osman Karaca in Cambodia on October 14, 2019 was arbitrary and in violation of international human rights norms and standards. The working group found serious human rights violations perpetrated by agents acting on behalf of the governments of Cambodia and Turkey.

WGAD said it had noted a significant increase in the number of cases brought to it concerning arbitrary detention in Turkey. The working group expressed its concern “over the pattern that all these cases follow,” recalling that “under certain circumstances, widespread or systematic imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of the rules of international law may constitute crimes against humanity.”

The working group requested that “the Governments of Cambodia and Turkey … take the steps necessary to remedy the situation of Mr. Karaca without delay and bring it into conformity with the relevant international norms, including those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.”

WGAD called on “the Government of Turkey to release Mr. Karaca immediately” and “the Government of Turkey and the Government of Cambodia to accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.”

The working group urged “both Governments to ensure a full and independent investigation of the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Karaca and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.”

Background

Karaca, the Turkish-Mexican former director of a school run by the movement of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, who Ankara accuses of orchestrating a failed 2016 coup, was arrested by eight policemen while he was at a bank on Oct. 14 in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has demanded the extradition of various people tied to the movement — including staff at schools it funded worldwide. Gülen denies any connection to the abortive putsch.

At its peak the Gülen movement operated schools in 160 countries, from Afghanistan to the United States. Since the coup attempt, Turkey has pressured allies to shut down Gülen-run establishments.

Karaca, a former director of the Zaman International School, was arrested “at the request and at the behest of the Turkish authorities,” WGAD said.

Karaca was not informed of his rights at the time of arrest or about the charges against him and “was held until October 18, 2019, in a secret detention facility operated by the Government of Cambodia and by denying or concealing Mr. Karaca’s whereabouts or fate, the Cambodian authorities placed him outside the protection of the law, excluding the possibility of review of his situation by the domestic courts,” WGAD noted.

On October 18, 2019 Karaca was handed over to the Turkish authorities, which enabled his illegal transfer to Turkey on a special flight, landing in Turkey the following day, on October 19, 2019. Since October 25, 2019 Karaca has been held in solitary confinement, despite severe and life-threatening disabilities.
https://www.turkishminute.com/2021/03/1 ... -educator/