Azmat Nurmat uulu, a teacher from Kyrgyzstan who was arrested in Turkey in April of this year, recently returned to his homeland. He announced this on December 13 in an interview with Azattyk/Kyrgyz Service of Radio Free Europe.
Nurmat uulu clarified that negotiations took place on December 11 at the Consulate General of Kyrgyzstan in Istanbul, which allowed him to leave Turkey.
However, the legal proceedings regarding his case are ongoing, and the next hearing is scheduled for the end of January 2026. Only Nurmat uulu's lawyer from Turkey will be present at that hearing.
The teacher's detention occurred on April 20 at Istanbul Airport when he was taking six of his students to an international mathematics olympiad in Antalya, organized by the educational center Zeen from Bishkek.
A week after his arrest, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Almaz Imangaziev, reported that the detention was related to the "Hizmet" movement, led by Fethullah Gülen, which Turkey classifies as a "Fethullahist terrorist organization."
At the time of his arrest, 32-year-old Azmat Nurmat uulu was working at the international educational institution "Maarif" (formerly known as "Sapat") and was teaching mathematics at the Kusein Karasaev Lyceum on Issyk-Kul. In 2010, he graduated from the Ishak Razzakov Lyceum in Kyzyl-Kiya, which was also associated with "Sapat," and later obtained a degree from the Faculty of Mathematics at Gaziantep University in Turkey.
The attempted coup in Turkey on July 15, 2016, claimed the lives of more than 300 people. Turkish authorities accused Fethullah Gülen of orchestrating the coup and demanded his extradition from the USA, declaring his movement a terrorist organization (FETO). Gülen and his supporters rejected these accusations, claiming that the authorities organized the coup.
Fethullah Gülen passed away in the USA in October 2024 at the age of 83.
On December 31, 2024, it was reported that the educational institution "Sapat" in Kyrgyzstan was transferred to the Turkish foundation "Maarif." On January 1, the "Sapat" foundation stated that this action was a violation of the law and promised to take legal steps to protect its interests under international law.
The "Maarif" Foundation (Türkiye Maarif Vakfı), established in 2016 under the Turkish Ministry of Education, opened its first school in Bishkek in 2021.
In 2016, Turkish authorities demanded that Kyrgyzstan close educational institutions that were allegedly linked to Fethullah Gülen. This led to a cooling of relations between the two countries after Bishkek stated that Turkish lyceums did not pose a threat.
In 2017, the authorities decided to change the name of the educational institutions "Sebat," which had been operating in Kyrgyzstan since 1992, to "Sapat."
