Fatma Betül Zeybek, the wife of Turkish national Salih Zeybek, has said her husband was abducted by armed men in the Turkish province of Edirne on the evening of Feb. 21.
Writing from her husband’s Twitter account on Monday, Zeybek said the family’s automobile was stopped by armed men at the Havsa toll booth in Edirne while their 6 and 9-year-old children were in the vehicle.
The woman said the men threatened to harm her family if she reported the incident to the police and that that was the reason she waited five days to file a criminal complaint at a prosecutor’s office against the perpetrators of the incident.
“Only today was I able to file a criminal complaint [against the abductors]. I have not heard from my husband for five days. I am worried for his life, I don’t know where he is,” the woman tweeted, asking for assistance from Turkish authorities to find her husband.
There have been many abduction cases in Turkey since a July 15, 2016 failed coup, targeting supporters of the faith-based Gülen movement. The government holds the movement responsible for the abortive putsch and has cracked down on its real and alleged followers. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the attempt.
Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, an opposition deputy and also a renowned human rights activist, wrote about the abduction of Zeybek from his Twitter account.
“Yet another abduction incident. What is happening? What has become of this country? News of an abduction incident comes from another province every day. To the Edirne Governor’s Office: Will you make a statement about his incident? I am waiting,” Gergerlioğlu tweeted.
