Izetbegović, do you know who Samed is: BiH disowned him, and Turkey imprisoned him!

By Amra Varatanović

While Bakir Izetbegović, member of the Presidency of BiH, held a meeting behind closed doors in Istanbul last weekend with his friend, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, a BiH citizen, Samed Nadarević, has been imprisoned in a Turkish prison in Silivri for five months.

Following the attempted military coup on July 15, 2016, the Turkish army and police arrested their citizens (selectively or not) as well as anyone they considered a supposed supporter of scholar Fethullah Gülen. A few days later, Samed Nadarević, a fifth-year architecture student at Istanbul State University and a scholarship holder of the Turkish state, was also arrested.

These are the hardest and longest days for Samed's family. They have no official information about the charges against their son. Their days are spent waiting for any news. In these five months, they have spoken to Samed for a few minutes. He is expected to appear in court soon, without even knowing what he is accused of.

In a foreign country, under foreign laws, a foreigner wants to convict him. BiH has let down this young man and his family in this case. His father, Mujo, who was a fighter in the Army of RBiH, who defended this country on the front lines so that his Samed would have a future in our free, sovereign, and independent homeland.  

And today, on the other hand, there is no reaction, only the painful echo of silence, which pierces the ears of parents and relatives. 

Those who should have done everything to free Samed and bring him to BiH, and to have him tried here if there were any guilt and evidence, have remained silent about the fate of this man from Krajina. They have remained silent to the pleas of desperate parents and family.

According to previous information, Samed is the only BiH citizen imprisoned in Turkey. Why are the Presidency of BiH, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of BiH, the Ministry of Justice of BiH, officials, and public figures not reacting? Why is there no voice to save this young man?

The desperate father sent letters to numerous addresses seeking help. In response, he received a shameful wall of silence.

They say silence implies consent. Will we as a society accept silence and let this young life be destroyed? Will such a fate await us tomorrow when we cross the borders of BiH?

Is there any responsibility for BiH citizens? Does anyone have the courage to come forward publicly, to the family, and say that they have given up on Samed? And tomorrow, all of us could be Samed.

Let's return to Izetbegović. He and his SDA have also managed to humiliate children in BiH, leaving the best math and physics Olympians without deserved awards, simply because they attended or attend Bosna Sema schools. Did he discuss this with Erdoğan behind closed doors instead of Samed?

Izetbegović, you should be the voice of the people, not of individuals you consider friends. It is terribly painful even to think about how the Nadarević family feels, seeking salvation for their child, when they are fighting against two countries, one that disowned him and the other that imprisoned him.