Moldova May Expel More Turkish Nationals, Amnesty Warns

The Moldova director of the rights organisation Amnesty International, AIM, Cristina Pereteatcu, has told BIRN that they believe 48 Turkish residents in Moldova are under surveillance by the Moldovan authorities - and could share the same fate as seven Turkish teachers recently expelled from the country. 

"Another 48 Turkish nationals could be expelled from Moldova. These would be people on a blacklist that are not only from the Horizont high school chain but who carry out other activities in Moldova, such as businessmen," Pereteatcu told BIRN. 

Asked about the fate of the seven Turkish teachers who are already back in the custody of Turkish authorities, Pereteatcu said they risked being sentenced to life in prison. 

"We know that three of them are in a cell altogether, and the other four are in cells in different places of detention. They have access to a lawyer," she added. 

Pereteatcu said that AIM and other rights organisations in Moldova are preparing several reactions to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's announced visit to the country on October 17-18. 

Erdogan is expected to attend the opening ceremony of the presidential palace of President Igor Dodon, which is being repaired by Turkish companies under a 10-million-euro contract paid for by TIKA, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency. 

The director of AIM accused the Moldovan authorities of committing forgery with official documents in order to try to show that they acted legally with the expulsions of the Turkish nationals. 

Amnesty sent an urgent request to the Moldovan parliament on September 6, asking it to explain why the hearings in parliament about the deported Turks were kept behind closed doors, saying the public was...