Friends and family say they fear for the safety of a Calgary man who was detained in Turkey after being accused of being a key plotter of the failed coup on July 15.
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Hanci is a dual Canadian-Turkish citizen who works as an iman for Correctional Service Canada and Alberta Correctional Services.
A picture circulating in the Turkish media shows a man alleged to be Hanci apparently handing out money with US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Turkish authorities say was behind the failed coup-a charge Gulen denies.
The family says Hanci was detained and his name has appeared in Turkish media in connection with the coup attempt.
“Her brother Selman Durmus, who lives in Toronto, says all she could ask is ‘How are you?”
A spokeswoman for Global Affairs in Canada says the department is “aware of a Canadian dual-citizen detained in Turkey” and that Canadian consular officials are providing assistance.
Hanci’s family members are waiting to hear from Turkish prosecutors about what happens next, he added.
“As far as we know, at the moment she is OK”.
“Media sources are saying ‘the mastermind of the coup attack.’. I have a bunch of photos of him obviously, if you put the photos side by side you can easily tell that it’s not him in the picture”, said Durmus.
Turkish media reports allege that Calgary’s Davud Hanci is from Pennsylvania and works for exiled moderate cleric Fethullah Gulen. This guy is just a regular guy. “None of the things that they’re claiming make any sense”, he said.
Gulen has denied any knowledge of the attempted coup.
However, a source familiar with the meeting says officials want Turkish Ambassador Selcuk Unal to explain why Hanci is being detained, and to reiterate Canada’s concerns about recent events in the country, including a three-month state of emergency. “Whoever reports the followers of Fethullah Gulen. they’re attacking innocent people”.
“We’re trying to sort things out because the lives of the kids and the whole family is in danger right now”, Durmus said.
Turkey announced Saturday it had seized more than 2,250 social, educational or health care institutions and facilities, claiming they pose a threat to national security.
“We think we should have more support and solidarity (from the global community) in the sense that nobody should forget that there was a coup attempt”, he said. The Turkish government has detained thousands of people it alleges are Gulen supporters.
“I’m not going to say that he’s part of it – I’m no judge”, Mahmoud Mourra said outside Calgary City Hall on Sunday afternoon during a pro-Erdogan rally he helped to organize.
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In an interview before the meeting at Global Affairs Canada, Unal said he did not know the specifics of Hanci’s arrest and that it would be inappropriate to comment on a legal case.
