Ahmad Zahid Hamidi
On 12 May 2017, Malaysia deported three Turkish suspects over their alleged involvement with the Gülen movement, an organisation which has been designated as a terrorist organisation by the Turkish government. Following this, the Malaysian government was accused by the anti-Erdogan Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) for enabling the persecution of government critics of the administration under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan by unlawfully turning over Turkish nationals who fled from the crackdown launched by their President under the request of their government. Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia Ahmad Zahid Hamidi denied the detention was based on order from the Turkish government, while explaining that the arrests were made after receiving information from the Counter-Messaging Centre (CMC) in relation to their involvement in an organisation that deemed illegal in their country.