Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Alhaji Timothy Musa Kabba, has clarified that there is no official record or diplomatic communication confirming that the individual arrested in Turkey for drug-related offenses holds a Sierra Leonean diplomatic or ordinary passport.
Speaking on AYV Television’s Wake Up Sierra Leone program, Minister Kabba emphasized that his ministry has not received any formal communication from Turkish authorities regarding the arrest of a Sierra Leonean national.
“As of today, we have not received any diplomatic communication indicating that the individual arrested in Turkey for drug-related offenses holds a Sierra Leonean diplomatic or ordinary passport,” Minister Kabba stated.
He further explained that if the individuals were indeed Sierra Leonean citizens or holders of Sierra Leonean passports, the Turkish government would have formally notified Freetown through diplomatic channels.
“They were not arrested as Sierra Leoneans; otherwise, we would have received a formal request from the Turkish government,” he said. “Since no such request has been made, and given the sensitivity of this issue which falls under the UN Convention on Transnational Crime, I will not accept such claims without verifiable proof.”
Minister Kabba added that if there is any evidence showing the use of Sierra Leonean diplomatic passports, those passports would have identifiable serial numbers and dates of issue, which could be traced through the system to determine where any irregularities occurred.
“If it is proven that Sierra Leonean diplomatic passports were used, we will investigate through our system to see where it went wrong,” he assured.
The minister concluded by stressing that any credible claims would be fully verified once officially communicated to his office.
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