The wife of a Calgary imam says there has been a lot of crying and praying since his arrest in Turkey, where last month’s attempted coup has led to a major crackdown.
Rumeysa Hanci says her husband Davud is being wrongfully imprisoned and authorities have not explained what he’s accused of doing.
She broke into tears describing spending their 13th wedding anniversary travelling back home to Calgary with their two sons, not knowing when she would see her husband again.
The couple and the boys, who are eight and nine, were in the country to visit Davud’s ailing father.
Rumeysa says authorities took Davud in for questioning on the night of July 23 and searched the family’s home early the next morning without saying why he was under suspicion.
Turkish media reports have said Davud allegedly helped orchestrate an attempted coup in Turkey last month, which has been followed by tens of thousands of detentions, arrests and firings.
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Rumeysa says her husband, who provides spiritual counselling to prison inmates, is a humanitarian who would never do anything violent and she has faith Canadian authorities will do all they can to help in his release.
“My husband is a very gentle and kind man,” she said, sitting at the dining room table of the family’s northwest Calgary house, smiling wedding photos spread out in front of her.
“He’s not involved with any violence. He’s a very peaceful man.”
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“I just want to be the old family we were,” said Vedat Hanci, the older of Davud’s two boys. The family has had limited contact with their father since he was detained.
“I would say ‘I miss you and I want you to come home safely.'”
The family said they will remain in Calgary until they can obtain paperwork from Davud’s employer, Correctional Services Canada, proving he worked in Alberta. Once that is complete, the family plans to move to Toronto to be closer to family.
They still haven’t been given any word on Davud’s court date and said they are waiting to hear back from Global Affairs Canada.
-With files from Sarah Offin
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