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”.

“When we met him yesterday everything was well.

“He thought he would be released soon and we were even planning what we would be doing this coming week. He had no idea,” Ainnurul Aisyah, overcome with emotion, struggled to finish her sentence.

Like her client, Noor Svetlana (on right in photo) did not anticipate Ihsan would be deported.

“What happened today was beyond our anticipation. We thought we would be able to meet him again next week.

“We were not informed earlier (about the deportation),” the lawyer confirmed.

Noor Svetlana added that Ihsan was in a good condition when they met, and she believed he had been treated well during his arrest.

Ainnurul Aisyah has since been in contact with her father-in-law, who lives in Manisa, a province in western Turkey.

“I received a call from my father-in-law and he said my husband is already in Ankara. That’s the only information I have received,” she said.

She and Ihsan have been married for 15 years and they have three children, aged between two and 10 years.

“I don't know how to explain this to my children, and I can't imagine them being brought up without the care of their father,” Ainnurul Aisyah told Malaysiakini.

Lawyer: Don’t confuse Ihsan with other two detained

Noor Svetlana believes her client was “not in the same team” as the other two Turkish nationals he was deported with, 43-year-old international school principal Turgay Aslan and Ismet Ozcelik, 58.

“In our opinion, Encik Ihsan (photo on right) is separate from the other two. Do not associate him with the other two men who have been arrested.

“He said he does not know one of them, and the other is only a distant acquaintance,” the lawyer said.

Ihsan is a businessman and has been living in Malaysia for the past 16 years on a work and spousal visa, Noor Svetlana added.

Ihsan and Turgay were first arrested last Tuesday under Section 130 of the Penal Code for ‘activities that threaten national security’, according to a tweet by Khalid.

Ismet was arrested two days later at a petrol station in Chenor, Pahang.

Khalid explained in a statement that the trio were suspected of being involved in the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETÖ), which is gazetted by the Turkish government and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a terrorist organisation.

However, he denied that the three were arrested and deported on request of the Turkish government, saying Malaysia had a right to take action to ensure its security.

The deportations have raised concerns among human rights watchdogs in the region.

"Done in the middle of the night, with no notification to their families, Malaysia sent these three men to face a possible risk of torture and prolonged pre-trial detention, followed by a court trial that will likely fail to meet fair trial standards,” said Human Rights Watch deputy director for Asia Phil Robertson.