Police confirmed the arrest of two Turkish men on Wednesday, who were previously reported as “kidnapped” from the capital, Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday.
Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the suspects had been arrested for "activities threatening [Malaysia’s] national security".
In a statement, Bakar said police nabbed the suspects -- Turgay Karaman and Ihsan Aslan -- under the penal code’s section 130 that prohibits aiding the escape of, rescuing, or harboring of any prisoner of the state.
"The Malaysian police confirms that Turkish nationals, T. Karaman and I. Aslan, were arrested yesterday under section 130 of the penal code in connection to activities that threatened Malaysia's security," he said.
On Tuesday, a teacher from the Time International School, where Karaman worked as a principal, lodged a report with the police over the alleged abduction.
According to the police report, close-circuit television footage showed Turgay being taken away by five men from an office building in Damansara Heights, where he was scheduled to meet lawyers for a witness briefing.
The detained suspects were supposed to appear as defense witnesses in a case at a Malaysian court against Ismet Ozcelik, who was sent to Sungai Buloh prison near Kuala Lumpur for 50 days last year, a police official, who wished not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.
Ozcelik was arrested on Dec. 13, 2016, after he allegedly stopped some immigration officers -- reportedly in plainclothes -- from checking his passport at his son's residence in Kuala Lumpur.
After the arrest, he was detained for 50 days with multiple bail requests getting quashed by a lower Malaysian court.
Ismet was released on Jan. 31, 2017, after he managed to secure UN refugee status, which provided him with immunity against detention without trial.
Ozcelik used to work as the vice chair of a university in Turkey before he was fired from his job.
"Ismet [Ozcelik] was supposed to be charged in court in the coming days, and Karaman and Aslan were supposed to appear as defense witnesses," the source added.
The two suspects are believed to be linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization, or FETO.
FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen are accused of orchestrating the defeated July 2016 coup, which left 249 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara has said FETO is also behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary, and has also accused it of infiltrating other countries through educational institutions, among others.