The families of Ismet Ozcelik and Turgay Karaman, two of three Turkish citizens who were deported to Turkey on short notice, have demanded that Putrajaya explains the involvement of Turkish agents in their deportation.

In a statement released through their lawyers, they pointed out that the Malaysian government had initially denied the arrest of the men had anything to do with the Gulen movement, which is facing a purge by the Turkish government that accused it of orchestrating a coup.

"The Inspector-general of police (Khalid Abu Bakar's) press statement now admits that they have been deported for activities connected to Gulen.

"Pictures of the deportation show Turkish agents being present during the deportation.

"The families of Ismet Ozcelik and Turgay Karaman demand an explanation from the government of Malaysia for allowing its agents to orchestrate the deportation," the families said.

The families of Ismet and Turgay reiterated that the two had entered Malaysia legally and their deportation was illegal.

"Ismet Ozcelik and Turgay Karaman are not fugitives fleeing from the law as they have never committed any offence, neither in Turkey nor Malaysia.

"They are merely academicians trying to build a life in a country they deemed safe and peaceful and would not submit to any political ploy or pressure.

"The families are shocked and deeply hurt that Ismet Ozcelik and Turgay Karaman were deported without any notice or warning," they said.

Fears over fate of men in Turkey

The families added that they fear for the fate of the two men in Turkey following the deportation.

Putrajaya pressed ahead with the deportation despite human rights groups warning that they face torture and unfair trial in Turkey amid a purge against dissent by the Erdogan government.

Meanwhile, the wife of Ihsan Aslan, the third Turkish man who was deported, said she was shocked by the development.

“I’m still shocked, I didn’t expect this to happen at all,” Ihsan’s wife Ainnurul Aisyah Yunos Ali Maricar told reporters this evening.

Ainnurul Aisyah said she was informed this morning by a journalist on the tweet by inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar that announced three Turkish nationals, including Ihsan, had been deported to Ankara, Turkey.

She explained that when she and her lawyer Noor Svetlana Mohd Noor Nordin met with Ihsan at 3pm at the Bukit Aman police station yesterday, there was “no indication he would be deported”...