An American Air Force veteran who was initially reported to have been detained in Turkey last month on suspicion of being part of an ISIS terror cell was actually being held on immigration violations, The Intercept reported Thursday.
On Nov. 24, PJ Media reported that Saadiq Long, his wife, and their child were picked up near the Turkey-Syria border and suspected of being affiliated with the terrorist group.
The Daily Caller and other outlets picked up the story of Long’s detention, which was newsworthy because Long had become a cause célèbre in 2012 and 2013 when he was placed on the government’s “no-fly” list and prevented from flying from his home in Qatar to visit his ailing mother in Oklahoma.
In its separate reporting, TheDC contacted a relative of Long’s who confirmed that the 43-year-old and his family had been apprehended in Turkey. The relative did not know at the time what the Longs were being charged with, and the State Department told TheDC it could not provide specifics on the case.
The Intercept added new detail to the case — and took the opportunity along the way to criticize the outlets that initially reported the story — reporting that the Longs had been apprehended because of alleged immigration violations and not because they were taking part in terrorist activities.
The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has been working with Long’s family to secure his release, The Intercept’s Glenn Greenwald also reported.
In a Dec. 2 email to Long’s brother-in-law, Donald Frey, a U.S. consular official in Ankara wrote: “We spoke to your sister’s husband today and are working with one of his friends to obtain tickets back to the United States for all of them. We hope to have them depart Turkey next week. We received a congressional inquiry today regarding your sister’s situation.”
PJ Media’s editors are set to release a statement backing up the initial report, TheDC learned on Thursday.
Reached for comment, Frey told TheDC that his family’s arrests “the disinformation from the United States embassy in Ankara Turkey and Republic of Turkey has me and my mother worried sick.”
“We worry for their well being and protection of their rights as citizens of the U.S., especially in light of the fact that they have no local charges or U.S. charges,” Frey said.
He also said that the U.S. is “retaliating” against Long, who works at a charity in Qatar, and his family “by requesting that Turkey detain them for deportation to the U.S.
“This same country that has placed them on the no fly list to prevent them from entering the U.S. is now having a puppet Republic detain them for deportation TO THE US!!” Frey concluded.
This post has been updated with additional comments. The headline of this article has also been changed for clarification purposes.