30 Nov 2021; MEMO: Turkish businessman and aid worker, Mehmet Ali Ozturk, who had been kept in Emirati custody since February 2018, was released on Monday, Middle East Eye reports.
According to the report, he was released as part of an annual pardon issued by UAE President, Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
"I'm very happy to be back in my country, and be healthy and with my family," Ozturk said.
Ozturk was accused of funneling money to hard-line Syrian rebels. Bizarrely, he was charged with entering Syria without permission from UAE authorities. Syria and the UAE are around 2,000km apart.
Ozturk was detained by the UAE's notorious State Security Directorate on 20 February 2018, the report says.
