Bosnian Politicians and Courts Battle over Fate of Wanted Turks

A Bosnian court ruling on Monday overturning a decision by the country’s Security Ministry to place in a detention centre a Turkish citizen wanted by Ankara is the latest salvo in what analysts say is a battle between Bosnia’s courts and political leaders over Turkey’s hunt for those it accuses of links to a failed 2016 coup.

Like other countries in the Balkans and elsewhere, Bosnia has come under intense pressure to hand over Turks tied to a network of educational institutions linked to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who denies masterminding the failed putsch.

The latest case concerns Fatih Keskin, director of Richmond Park Schools in the northwestern Bosnian city of Bihac; two weeks ago, Keskin’s permanent residence permit was revoked, with documents seen by BIRN citing “threats to national security”, and police arrested him.

A Sarajevo court, however, this week overruled the detention order, meaning Keskin walked free but remains subject to strict restrictions on his freedom of movement.

Four other Turkish citizens in Bosnia, reportedly on a list of wanted Turks handed over by President Tayyip Recep Erdogan during a visit to Bosnia in July, have also had their residence permits revoked, only for the courts to restore them.

According to the findings of a BIRN investigation, four times in the past four years, courts have blocked the extradition of Turkish citizens. In two cases the court were citing the fact that the European Union, individual EU states and the United States do not accept Ankara’s characterisation of Gulen’s movement as a “terrorist organisation”. Turkey calls it the ‘Fethullahist Terrorist Organisation’, FETO for short.

Adnan Huskic, a political scientist at the Sarajevo School of Science and Technology, said the main Bosniak party in Bosnia, the Party of Democratic Action, SDA, was trying to accommodate Erdogan’s demands but the courts were resisting.

“Bosnia has failed to deliver on Erdogan’s demands but now we see this is happening,” he said, citing the “close relationship” between Erdogan and SDA leader Bakir Izetbegovic.

“This detention and cancellation of residence permit… is being done by institutions under the firm control of the SDA,” Huskic told BIRN.

Sending a message to others
Keskin, who has lived in Bosnia for 15 years, remains under surveillance, his movements limited to Bihac and Sarajevo. He must report three times per week to the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs, a requirement his lawyer, Nedim Ademovic, plans to appeal.

Ademovic questioned Keskin’s designation as a security threat by Bosnia’s security agencies.

“They did not provide any evidence in the court proceedings to substantiate such an assessment,” Ademovic told Klix.ba.

Turkey is using its political and financial clout in the Balkans and elsewhere to pursue so-called Gulenists and shut down the schools they work for; in two cases when that hasn’t worked, the Turkish intelligence agency snatched a number of Turkish citizens from Kosovo and Moldova.

Huskic said developments in Bosnia remained “very unpredictable”.

“Erdogan still wants them to be extradited but basically Erdogan’s associates in Bosnia cannot easily deliver these requests as it happened in Kosovo or Moldova because of the country’s complex state system and law,” he said, alluding to Bosnia’s highly decentralised system of ethnic power-sharing since the end of a 1992-95 war.

Keskin’s case “can also be seen as a message to others,” Huskic said. “The message is that they should leave the country or the same can happen to them.”

The politicians, he said, were placing the responsibility on the country’s institutions and courts, ridding themselves of the blame for any “controversial extradition to Turkey that might place someone’s life in mortal danger.”

“This becomes a major stress test for Bosnian institutions and the rule of law. This case will show us whether everyone enjoys the protection of the law or not. If Erdogan gets to take what he wants it would mean not only that Gulenists in Bosnia are not safe, but no one in Bosnia is safe.”

‘My life is here’
Keskin, after his release, told BIRN: “I don’t know whether my arrest sends any message, but this seems to be a political thing. I see some pressure.”

“Now everything seems to be fine, but I don’t feel like before,” he said. “Of course I intend to stay in Bosnia, I want to be here. I’ve been here for 15 years, my life is here. I want to stay here. We’ll see what happens next.”

Richmond Park Schools, formerly known as Bosna Sema Schools, runs 14 educational institutions in Bosnia, including a university in Sarajevo. It is owned by a British educational firm that is believed to have links with the Gulen network.

The company welcomed Keskin’s release, saying it was proof the courts are “independent and rule of law still works in a very politically-motivated case.”

Harun Tursanovic, public relations manager at Richmond Park Schools, said a petition for Keskin’s release had been signed by 14,000 people, but questioned the support of Bosnia’s political leaders.

“Only Nasa (Our) Party and the Social Democratic Party showed their solidarity,” he told BIRN.

The British Embassy in Sarajevo said it was in touch with the British company involved in Keskin’s case.

“We have no role in providing consular support to Turkish citizens and it would be inappropriate to comment on an ongoing legal case,” the embassy told BIRN in a written statement. “We look to the authorities to correctly apply and respect the rule of law.”