Mehmet Ali Öztürk, claiming to be carrying out relief work in Syria and Iraq, has been reportedly detained by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the intelligence agency of the United Arab Emirates in Dubai. Although there is still no information about why and where he was detained, Öztürk has been taken to the CIA base in Abu Dhabi, according to the reports.
On Feb. 20, Mehmet Ali Öztürk and his wife E. Öztürk were detained by unknown persons in a hotel in Dubai where they were visiting for a fair held by the Mediterranean Exporters' Association (AKİB). Öztürk and his wife were initially taken to an unknown place, and then E. Öztürk was sent back to Turkey by the unknown persons who detained them.
Yet, it is still unclear why Öztürk was taken into custody.
Öztürk is one of the founders of the former Islamist and nationalist Bayirbucak Turkmen Mountain Association (Türkmen-Der), which claimed to carry out humanitarian relief in Syria’s Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Homs, Turkmen Mountain, Iraq’s Kirkuk and Mosul, and Africa. After he shut down the association, Öztürk and his friends continued to carry out 'aid' in Syria and Iraq through Al-Qaeda-linked IHH and the Turkish Red Crescent.
The Jihadist Syrian Turkmen Brigades, mostly backed by the Turkish government, had massacred and committed war crimes in Alevi villages in Syria in 2016 under the umbrella of the Free Syrian Army.
The Turkish government is carrying out various activities through Islamist organizations and foundations especially in the Middle East and the Balkans. The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (IHH), known for its strong ties to Al-Qaeda, is one of these Islamist organizations collaborating with the AKP government.
Israel had recently accused Turkish government's paramilitary forces SADAT of supporting Hamas. SADAT is an International Defence and Counselling Corporation, found by Adnan Tanriverdi after he retired from the Turkish military. SADAT declares its purpose as "assisting in the training self-sufficient military forces in the world of Islam" by serving in the fields of military training and maintenance. It provides training in unconventional warfare, sharpshooting, and ground offensive and tank destruction.
