Good afternoon. Two months ago, a delegation of 13 Turkish arms companies visited Mozambique, with Turkish government officials attending. There was speculation, and no doubt hope in the Mozambican armed forces, that an order would be placed for hi-tech weapons like drones that could help fight the insurgency in the north. But nothing happened. The Mozambican government would need a line of credit from Turkey to pay for weapons, but none was offered.
Now, the Turkish government has requested the extradition of Emre Çınar, the director of the Willow international schools in Mozambique, whom they perceive to be an opponent and follower of the dead dissident Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen. Are the two things linked? Could Çınar’s extradition be the price the Turks expect in exchange for an arms deal? There are certainly grounds for suspicion. They have asked before for Çınar to be extradited, but only informally. This is the first time a formal extradition process against him has been launched.
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Turkish president Reccep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government is ruthless in its pursuit of opponents, as its zealous but failed attempts to capture Gülen showed. But how likely is Çınar to be extradited? Mozambican courts are heavily influenced by political pressure when it comes to politically sensitive cases. However, they appear to generally follow procedure in extradition cases. Çınar’s case is to be heard by the Supreme Court, which is relatively independent in its decisions. The fact that the judge has granted bail to Çınar is a positive sign for him that his case will be properly handled.
