German Embassy in Zagreb says that it is providing consular services to the family of the arrested Kurd.
The news about the arrest of a German national of Turkish origin in Croatia, Murat Catulay, has spread among Kurds around the world who appeal to the Croatian government to release Catulay, allow him to return to Germany and not to extradite him to Turkey where he would, as they claim, surely be executed, reports Večernji List on July 31, 2016.
Ali Basar, the coordinator of the Kurdish coalition in Syria, said that he knew Catulay personally and that he was sure that he was innocent and had nothing to do with terrorist attacks for which he was accused by Turkey. “We do not know whether Catulay has ever been a member of TIKKO, but he has never committed a crime. A crime has been committed against his family. In his native village, the Turkish army killed everybody and burned the whole village. Almost his entire family and relatives died at the time, after which he went to Germany”, said Ali Basar, noting that the world can see that it is not difficult to be labelled a terrorist in Turkey, especially if you are a Kurd. “For Erdogan, every Kurd is a terrorist. Do you know what is happening in Turkey in the area inhabited by the Kurds? There is a war going on. We Kurds are only defending our homes and families”, said Basar.
Catulay’s family and friends hope that Croatia will not extradite him to Turkey, where they claim he would surely be executed.
In the meanwhile, according to media reports, the German Embassy in Zagreb commented that they had been informed about the case and that Catulay’s family was receiving consular services from the Embassy, since he is a German citizen. The Ambassador was reportedly surprised that the media, just based on a warrant, had called Catulay a “terrorist” and that his full name had appeared in the media.
