Turkish ‘Gulenist’ Facing Deportation Seeks Asylum in Albania

Alleged Gulenist Selami Simsek was held in an Albanian police van without official insignia near the interior ministry on Monday evening. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

Simsek was brought to the interior ministry in central Tirana and kept in a minivan with civilian plates and no police insignia on Monday evening while his case was being discussed with representatives of the National Commission for Asylum and Refugees.

His father, Sami Simsek, who recently arrived from Turkey, said he was afraid that his son could share the fate of Harun Celik, a Turkish teacher who was put on a plane in murky circumstances by Albanian authorities and sent to Turkey on January 1.

The Albanian government claimed it was not aware that Celik faced prosecution in Turkey nor that he was an alleged Gulenist. But media in Turkey claimed Celik's transfer to Istanbul was result of a Turkish secret service operation.

A group of Albanian and Turkish supporters of Simsek kept a vigil for him outside the interior ministry building in Tirana on Monday evening.

After midnight, police detained about 20 of them overnight "for verification". Among those held was Bekim Bici, a television journalist, who expressed anger about the incident.

"As a journalist, I express my deep indignation about the General Directorate of the State Police and specifically about director Ardi Veliu, who in front of me, knowing that I am a journalist, ordered that I should be taken away," Bici wrote on Facebook.

Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj did not respond to BIRN's questions about Simsek. Several other officials, including a deputy minister and the prime minister's spokesperson, also declined to clarify the situation.

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