Mustafa Goktepe is accused of integrating terrorist organization linked to the Gülen movement; prison is part of an extradition process initiated from the government of Türkiye’s government
A arrested this Wednesday (30), the Brazilian Turkish businessman . A member of the Hizmet Movement, which opposes the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he is the target of an extradition request from the Turkey government. The arrest occurred after authorization from the Federal Superior Court, in a decision taken by the minister . The Federal Constitution of 1988, however, only allows the extradition of naturalized Brazilians in two situations: common crime committed before naturalization and proven involvement in drug trafficking. The Supreme Court has considered that terrorism crimes can be equated with political crimes, making it difficult for processes.
Goktepe’s arrest request arrived via the Ministry of Justice, on the Protocolar channel. Beto Vasconcelos, lawyer of the Turkish businessman, in an interview with Estadão, however, claims that the attempted coup is from 2016, when he was already a Brazilian citizen. Therefore, according to the understanding of the defense, the Supreme Court must deny the extradition request.
In his decision, however, Dino states that the request of the Turkish government fulfills the requirements required by the Brazilian Migration Law, such as the presentation of documents that identify the accused, describe the facts and attest to the court order issued by Turkey. The minister also says that there are no legal impediments for extradition: “He is not Brazilian, does not respond for political or opinion crime” – Dino does not mention the fact that he has been naturalized since 2012.
After the arrest, Goktepe was taken to the Federal Police Superintendence in São Paulo. The businessman has resided in Brazil since 2004, owns a network of Turkish restaurants and visiting professor at the University of São Paulo (USP).
Political persecution
Goktepe’s defense filed a request to revoke the arrest and said he had confidence that the extradition will be denied by the STF, as happened earlier with Turkish businessmen Ali Sipahi and Yakup Sagar, also linked to Hizmet.
Vasconcelos criticized the use of extradition for political persecution. “This request for extradition has no factual or legal basis. Mustafa Goktepe has lived in Brazil for over 20 years, has been naturalized for 12 years, married to a Brazilian, has Brazilian daughters, is a businessman who has absolutely no accusation of wrong conduct,” he said.
Vasconcelos claims that there are precedents to revoke prison and deny extradition. “This is another sad case of political persecution, risk of submission to exception courts in a country with serious human rights violations.”
Accused of plotting an attempted coup against Erdogan in 2016, Hizmet is the target of persecution by the Turkey government, which classifies the organization as a “terrorist.” The movement was created by cleric Fethullah Gülen, who died last year in the US, where he had exiled.
Purge
Gülen defended a more moderate view of Islam and had followers around the world. Until 2013, he was an ally of Erdogan, then Prime Minister of Türkiye. At the time, the premie had been involved in a corruption scandal and turned against Hizmet. The breach occurred because the complaints were motivated by investigations of prosecutors linked to the group
After the coup attempt, the Erdogan government began a brutal repression against civilians and military personnel, making an purge of thousands of people. In all, more than 45,000 military personnel, police, governors and civil servants were arrested or suspended, including 2,700 judges, 15,000 teachers and all universities rectors in the country. No country except Turkey qualifies Hizmet as a terrorist.
Turkey is considered a “non -free” country by Freedom House, an NGO that monitors democracy in the world. Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), according to the organization, became increasingly authoritarian, accumulating power with constitutional changes and arrest of opponents. Erdogan has been in power since 2003, between prime minister and president mandates. He has the support of conservative and religious sectors, but his critics accuse him of using state powers to suppress dissent.
*With information from Estadão
Posted by Victor Oliveira
