Turkey Probes Deportation of Egyptian Facing Death Penalty
ANKARA (Dispatches) – Turkey will investigate the deportation of an Egyptian facing execution in Cairo over a car bomb and has suspended eight policemen involved, the Istanbul governor’s office said on Wednesday.
Mohamed Abdelhafiz Ahmed Hussein, whom the Muslim Brotherhood movement identifies as a member, was among 28 people sentenced in absentia to death in July 2017 for killing Egypt’s public prosecutor in the attack, according to state media.
He was sent back to Egypt last month from Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport on arrival from Somalia for not having a visa.
The case adds to strained Turkey-Egypt relations since the army ousted President Mohamed Mursi, of the Brotherhood, following mass protests against his rule in 2013.
The Istanbul governor’s office said on Tuesday that when Hussein arrived, there was no information he was facing trial anywhere, and he did not request protection, so officials deemed him an "unacceptable passenger” due to lack of a Turkish visa.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the governor’s office said a commission had been set up to investigate the deportation and eight police officers were suspended from duty over it.
An adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was wrong to repatriate anyone facing charges in Egypt and the matter needed checking.
Mohamed Abdelhafiz Ahmed Hussein, whom the Muslim Brotherhood movement identifies as a member, was among 28 people sentenced in absentia to death in July 2017 for killing Egypt’s public prosecutor in the attack, according to state media.
He was sent back to Egypt last month from Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport on arrival from Somalia for not having a visa.
The case adds to strained Turkey-Egypt relations since the army ousted President Mohamed Mursi, of the Brotherhood, following mass protests against his rule in 2013.
The Istanbul governor’s office said on Tuesday that when Hussein arrived, there was no information he was facing trial anywhere, and he did not request protection, so officials deemed him an "unacceptable passenger” due to lack of a Turkish visa.
In a separate statement on Wednesday, the governor’s office said a commission had been set up to investigate the deportation and eight police officers were suspended from duty over it.
An adviser to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said it was wrong to repatriate anyone facing charges in Egypt and the matter needed checking.