Two of the seven Turkish teachers of the “Orizont” Lyceum who were expelled from Moldova at the start of last September were sentenced to six and, respectively, nine years in jail, IPN reports.

The relatives of the two convicted teachers learned about the sentence from a letter sent by a Turkish court. “This says the offenses are related to terrorism. For them, for Turkey, nothing else matters. I think we are terrorized. We are lyceum teachers,” “Orizont” Lyceum teacher Said Durmus stated for Pro TV.

“The document does not say it clearly for what actions the teachers were convicted. The two will spend six and, respectively, nine years behind bars. Nothing is known about the fate of the other five teachers. Colleagues from the “Orizont” Lyceum say they do not have were to obtain information from, especially because the lawyers do not talk to them. These are afraid.”

The seven Turkish citizens, teachers and managers of the network of lyceums “Orizont”, were declared undesirable and expelled from Moldova on September 6, 2018. The Security and Intelligence Service of Moldova said the seven are suspected of having ties with an Islamic group which is said to be performing illegal activities in a number of states. Teachers’ families and colleagues mounted multiple protests, demanding that the teachers should be set free.