The detentions came amid concerns raised by rights groups that the men were being held in Malaysia due to pressure from Turkey. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has accused Mr Gulen of orchestrating last July's failed coup, a claim Mr Gulen and his followers deny. "As such, their presence in Malaysia is invalid and their status declared as illegal immigrants," Mr Khalid said. He also questioned Malaysia's decision to deport Mr Ozcelik, who he said had documents from the UN refugee agency UNHCR recognising him as an asylum seeker. Turkey has also applied pressure on other countries that are home to institutions backed by Mr Gulen, whose Hizmet movement runs some 2,000 educational establishments worldwide.

Source: Bangkok Post May 12, 2017 08:37 UTC