Izzet Sahin Arrives In Turkey

Izzet Sahin, IHH representative to West Bank, was released yesterday, after being unjustly kept in prison by Israel for 20 days. A welcoming ceremony was held in Istanbul Ataturk Airport for Sahin. Number of IHH and MAZLUMDER volunteers was present at the airport to welcome Izzet Sahin and MAZLUMDER lawyers Gulden Sonmez and Cihat Gökdemir. They arrived in Istanbul at around 10.30 p.m. via a Turkish Airlines flight; he embraced his wife and children in tears and joy.

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Izzet Sahin, in response to questions he received from the press members, said “I stayed in an Israeli prison for 20 days, but there are thousands of innocent people out there who are locked behind walls. I am hoping that those Palestinians who are forced to spend years in Israeli jails will be released.”

Sahin expressed his thanks to Abdullah Gul, President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ambassador to Turkey in Israel, members of the Turkish Parliament and to all media institutions for their help and support.

Sahin, in response to the question “What were you being accused of?”, said “They could not come up with any concrete allegations. Their accusations were more towards the organization I work for than about myself. I was subject to a political trial more than a legal one. They were deeply disturbed by our aid activities.”

Bulent Yildirim, President of IHH, said “Israel took Sahin hostage in order to stop the flotilla campaign. I am hoping that they will never do a mistake like that again. Today, we received one joyful and one sad news. Two of our friends were on board the airplane that crashed in Afghanistan. We experienced joy and sorrow at the same time. I pray that all of the sufferings and pain in the world will disappear.”

MAZLUMDER Istanbul Branch Chairman Cihat Gökdemir and Vice Chairman Gulden Sonmez were in Jerusalem to observe Sahin’s illegal custody process.

Information Office of MAZLUMDER