A Kyrgyz mathematics teacher has reportedly gone missing after being detained by Turkish authorities at İstanbul Airport, raising fresh concerns about ongoing transnational repression by Turkey targeting individuals with past ties to the Gülen movement.
Azamat Nurmat Uulu, a teacher at Hussain Karasev High School in Kyrgyzstan’s Issyk-Kul region, traveled to Turkey on April 20 with six students to attend an international math olympiad in Antalya. Upon arrival at İstanbul Airport, he was reportedly detained by Turkish border officers. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
Nurmat Uulu’s wife, Irzwan Pakhridin Kyzy, and mother, Gulsara Shamurzaeva, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Kyrgyz Service that they have contacted Kyrgyz authorities, including the embassy in Turkey, but have yet to receive any information regarding his condition or location. They have publicly appealed for government intervention.
The incident has sparked concern among the teacher’s colleagues and students. Aidana Dyuyshonbieva, a fellow teacher, said the school community is deeply anxious and that students who traveled with Nurmat Uulu continue to ask about him.
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated it is working to verify the details of the case.
Nurmat Uulu, a graduate of Turkey’s Gaziantep University, has worked at the high school for eight years. The school is one of several in Kyrgyzstan that were previously operated by the Gülen-affiliated Sapat network before being transferred to the Turkish state-backed Maarif Foundation in December 2024.
Although the Kyrgyz government initially resisted Ankara’s efforts to seize control of the Sapat schools, it eventually approved the transfer under sustained pressure. At the time, Kyrgyz officials stated that teachers and students would remain in place and that operations would continue under Maarif’s oversight.
A source familiar with the school’s operations said the math competition had likely been planned before the school’s transfer and that Nurmat Uulu had no role in organizing the trip. The source also indicated that while Maarif now oversees the schools, internal activities continue to be run by local staff.
The Turkish government has labeled the Gülen movement a terrorist organization, accusing it of orchestrating a failed coup in 2016 — a claim the movement denies. Following the coup attempt, Ankara shut down hundreds of institutions allegedly linked to the movement and has aggressively pursued suspected affiliates both inside and outside Turkey.
The case of Nurmat Uulu follows a similar pattern to the 2021 abduction of Orhan İnandı, then-head of the Sapat network in Kyrgyzstan. İnandı was abducted in Bishkek and flown to Turkey, where he was imprisoned. He later reported being tortured while in Turkish custody — allegations that drew widespread condemnation from international human rights organizations.
The disappearance of Nurmat Uulu has raised fears that Turkey’s campaign against individuals with even remote links to the Gülen movement is continuing despite the formal handover of schools and institutions to Turkish authorities.
