Turkey widens post-coup purge
got sacked*
detained
arrested
schools, dormitories and universities shut down
academics lost jobs
judges, prosecutors dismissed
media outlets shut down
journalists arrested**
since July 15, 2016 as of July 19, 2017
*This number includes (1) state officials, teachers, bureaucrats, and academics who were dismissed by gov’t decrees, No. 667 issued on July 23, No.668 issued on July 25, No.669 issued on July 31, No. 672 issued on Sept. 1, No.675 issued on Oct. 29, No. 677/678 issued on Nov. 22, 2016, No.679/680/681 issued on Jan. 6, 2017, No.682/683/684/685 issued on Jan 23, 2017, and No.689 issued on April 29, 2017, No.692 issued on July 14, 2017; (2) academics who lost their jobs by gov’t decrees, No. 677 issued on July 23, No.675 issued on Oct. 29, 2016, and No.689 issued on April 29, 2017; (3) teachers whose licenses were revoked by Turkey’s Education Ministry on July 19, 2016; (4) and dismissed military personnel [6,511 officers and 16,409 cadets]. For detailed information, please visit: turkeypurge.com/purge-in-numbers and turkeypurge.com/academics-sacked-from-positions.
**Data compiled from PEN International, Platform for Independent Journalism (P24), Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF), Journalists’ Union of Turkey (TGS), Progressive Journalists Association (ÇGD), and Bianet online news portal. For detailed information, please visit: https://turkeypurge.com/journalism-in-jail.
Detention warrants issued for 168 in Istanbul
Turkish government has issued detention warrants for a total of 168 people in Istanbul’s Uskudar and Umraniye districts due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement. Among the individuals for whom detention warrants have been issued as part of an Istanbul-based...
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Former Pamukkale University rector sent to jail over alleged Gülen links
The rector of Denizli’s Pamukkale University (PAU) between 2011 and 2016, Professor Dr. Huseyin Bagci has been put in pre-trial detention over his alleged links to the Gulen movement. The government accuses the movement of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt...
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Turkish retailer reportedly stops selling ‘hero’ T-shirts over coup reference
Turkish retailer DeFacto has stopped selling T-shirts with the word ‘hero’ after the government detained at least 6 people for wearing such clothing over the past days, media reported. The hero T-shirts became a contentious issue when Gökhan Güçlü, one of the suspects...
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8 from state-run TV under arrest over terror charges
Eight people who were earlier dismissed from the state-run broadcaster, TRT were put in pre-trial over terror charges, media reported on Wednesday. The arrestees included reporter Efnan Y; technician Faysal A.; engineers Serkan C. and Ozgur S.; production workers Sule...
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Court rules for continuation of journalist Parildak’s arrest
An Ankara court on Tuesday ruled for continuation of the imprisonment of journalist Ayşenur Parıldak, who has been behind bars for more than 11 months. Parıldak, a 27-year-old reporter from the now-closed Zaman daily, appeared in court on Tuesday. She was arrested on...
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Turkey blacklists 68 companies including Germany’s Daimler, BASF over Gülen links: report
Turkey has named 68 companies as supporters of the Gülen movement, in a list sent to Germany's federal police, according to Die Zeit weekly. The list included a Turkish fast food restaurant and a late-night food store, Die Zeit said. This was sent to German...
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Disabled teacher, husband removed from job as brothers under arrest
Fatma Koyun, a teacher with an 82 percent physical disability who was dismissed from his job as part of a post-coup investigation, says her husband as well her brothers have been under arrest for months. In a video recording of herself that was widely shared on social...
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Woman briefly detained just hours after delivering baby at hospital
A group of police officers waited outside of private Hizmet Hospital in Istanbul’s Bahcelievler district in order to detain Yasemin Özkul, who gave birth to her third child just several hours ago, according to Turkish media. Police left Hizmet Hospital only after main...
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Arrested hunger striker says prison guards check at night to see if she’s dead or alive
Academic Nuriye Gülmen, who has been on a hunger strike for 127 days to protest her dismissal under state of emergency decree-laws, has said prison guards check at night to see if she is dead or alive, the Bianet news website reported on Wednesday. Gülmen sent her...
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Teacher with 35.5 years of experience working as farmer after dismissal
An unidentified teacher, with 35.5 years of experience in education according to his own telling, has been working as a farmer at an olive grove since he was dismissed from his job under a post-coup emergency rule. A video that has recently emerged on social media...
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Bride, groom detained in bridal car while on way to wedding venue
Emine Cetik and Aykut Kutlu, a soon-to-be-married couple, were stopped by police in a bridal car and detained over links to the Gulen movement while they were on their way to the wedding venue in Usak. Set to be officially married in just hours, the couple hit the...
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PEN says never seen so many writers in prison in one country at one time
PEN International, said in call to Turkish government that "never in the near-100 year history of PEN have we recorded so many writers in prison in one country at one time." Below is the full text of the statement which was published in 5 languages and signed by 34...
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Report: Turkish operatives in The Hague drawing up death lists
It seems that the Turkey’s intelligence spies have a command center in The Hague, the leading Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf said suggesting that Turkish operatives may have been using this place to draw up death lists involving leading Kurdish figures in Europe. The...
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Canadian rights advocate says Turkey’s post-coup crackdown amounts to genocide
Turkey’s post-coup witch-hunt of the Gulen movement followers is tantamount to genocide, Renee Vaugeois, a Canadian human rights specialist said in a recent interview. “This a targeted war on a specific group of people in Turkey and to me that speaks to genocide,"...
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Rights activists detained in Turkey at risk of torture, says UN spokesman
Eight human rights activists and two trainers who were detained during a during a digital security and information management workshop organized by Amnesty International (AI) in İstanbul last week are at significant risk of torture, a U.N. human rights spokesman said...
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Report: Turkey resumes illegal abductions, enforced disappearances
A new study has revealed that the Turkish government has resumed illegal abductions and enforced disappearances that were believed to be a thing of the past, primarily confined to the dark period of the 1990s, when mainly Kurds were victimized, according to the...
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“We’re concerned about the fate of people in Turkish prisons”
Human Tragedies of Turkey’s Purge
Gokhan Acikkollu
High School Teacher
Gokhan was detained on July 23, 2016 as part of Turkey’s post-coup crackdown. Although he was suffering from sever diabetes, he was denied access to his medics for six days. After 13 days in custody, Gokhan was found dead in his prison cell on August 5.
Mustafa Torer
Businessman
Mustafa was among 45 thousand people in Turkey’s massive crackdown following the coup attempt. He was taken into Iskenderun jailhouse. Under severe stress and trauma, Mustafa, who had already been suffering of diabetes, died over a heart attack.
Furkan D.
12-year-old cancer patient
12-year-old Furkan died of brain cancer several months after Turkish border agents seized his and his parents’ passports at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, causing the family to abandon their plans to receive cancer treatment in Cuba.
Filiz Y.
30-year-old mother
Filiz Y., a 30-year-old woman who gave birth at Mercin City Hospital on February 6, 2017, was detained in the wee hours of February 7, over alleged links to the Gulen Movement.
Hacı Isa Sezek
83-year-old civilian
83-year-old Haci Isa Sezek, arrested on charges of “membership in an armed organization” on January 3, 2017, is being kept in the same holding cell with his 29-year-old grandchild Suleyman Sezek.
Bilal Konakçı
Bomb Disposal Expert
Bilal Konakci, a former bomb disposal expert who was retired after he lost his right hand and both eyes while trying to dispose of a bomb in 2009, was detained on December 20, 2016, over links to the Gulen Movement.
5 Kids
A video shared on January 23, 2016 on social media showed five children left alone in tears in front of Sincan Prison in Ankara after their mother was detained while they were visiting their father in prison.
Yavuz Bolek
Jailed Police Chief
Yavuz Bolek, a police chief dismissed from profession following corruption probes implicating Erdogan, has cancer and will be soon be struck with paralysis if he isn’t given medical attention. His pleas are ignored.
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