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Cem Uzan granted political asylum in France, says lawyer
Uzan's lawyer, Şaylan Çığğın, said France had granted his client political asylum on the grounds that his client had faced difficulty due to a “political lynch campaign” against him since June 2003.
Earlier this month, news reports, based on information from a source “close to the family” whose identity was withheld, had said Uzan, his wife, Alara, and the couple's children had flown abroad.
Çığğın said in a written statement that Uzan and his family, including his young children, had faced a great deal of political pressure in Turkey.
He added that Uzan is grateful to France for granting him political asylum. “It is extremely important [to him] to have political asylum in France, a prominent country in the world. Uzan will continue his life in France," he said.
In August an international arbitration court overturned Uzan's objection to a Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) takeover of his two Polish-based companies, Cementownia Nowa Huta and Polska Energetyka Holding. Uzan was sentenced to prison for hiding credit-loading cards for cell phone lines belonging to GSM operator Telsim in an empty pool at his villa. Another lawsuit filed against Turkey by Cyprus-based investment company Libananco -- allegedly a front company for Uzan -- to recoup shares of two companies confiscated by the state from Uzan is still being heard.
In June of 2003, the TMSF took over İmarbank and Adabank, two Uzan banks, accusing the Uzan family of taking part in a scheme to siphon off millions of dollars from the two banks. The TMSF, which compensated the loss of Uzan's clients and account holders, said Uzan's debts regarding the two banks topped 3 billion liras. In order to recoup the compensation money, the TMSF took over 200 companies of the Uzan family group, including Star Media, two cement companies and the Telsim GSM Company.
Possibility of jail
Uzan was sentenced to three years and six months in jail in a case filed against him by the Küçükçekmece Prosecutor's Office on Jan. 10, 2005, after a four-and-a-half-year trial. The sentence was appealed, and the case is currently awaiting review by the Supreme Court of Appeals. If the high court approves the sentence, Uzan will go to jail. However, Uzan has been barred from international travel as he is now a suspect along with 33 others in a case being heard by the İstanbul 8th High Criminal Court, facing charges of “establishing an organization and being a member of it with the intent to commit a crime,” “embezzlement,” “fraud” and “fraud against the state.” The other suspects include his father, Kemal Uzan, siblings Murat Hakan Uzan and Ayşegül Uzan Akay and uncles Yavuz and Bahattin Uzan.
Earlier, Cem Uzan's lawyers petitioned the court to lift the travel ban citing health reasons, but the court rejected the appeal.
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