Asil Nadir has been freed

Turkish Cypriot businessman Asil Nadir, who was jailed in Britain in 2012 after his company had collapsed, was set free on April 22 2016, one day after he was extradited by Britain to Turkey.
Nadir was flown from London to Istanbul after British authorities accepted his request to serve the rest of his sentence in Turkey. He arrived on a Turkish Airlines plane and was escorted to a police station at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. He was released after spending one night in Istanbul’s Silivri prison.

Meanwhile, Nadir’s sister Bilge Nevzat thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu for their efforts in her brother’s extradition and release.

The 74-year-old was jailed for 10 years in 2012 after his company Polly Deck had collapsed, an ailing textiles company that he transformed into one of the most successful British firms of the 1980s.

Meanwhile Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Çavuşoğly said Nadir’s transfer to Turkey was being watched very closely and that the necessary steps were taken after Nadir’s family in Cyprus met with the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regarding the issue. “His family had a request from our president, and so we took the necessary initiatives. Concerning the crime, there were some differences between Britain and Turkey. As the British officials concerns were removed, Nadir’s transfer to Turkey was decided,” said Çavuşoğlu.