Human Tragedies of Turkey’s Purge
Bedridden man stands trial on terror, coup charges in Şanlıurfa
A Turkish man identified as Veysi Demir is standing trial over his alleged links to Turkey's Gülen group, which is accused of masterminding a coup attempt in 2016. The group denies any involvement. According to a twitter account managed by Demir's family members,...
Computer technician, died of cancer after dismissal, reinstated to job 3 months after his death
Ömer Faruk Aksoy, a computer technician who died of skin cancer after he was dismissed from job, was found innocent 2.5 years later and “reinstated” to his job. Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a rights activist and a lawmaker from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) tweeted...
Turkish man abducted by gunmen at toll station in Edirne: wife
Salim Zeybek, a Turkish businessman, was abducted by a group of gunmen in Edirne province on the night of February 21, 2019, according to several tweets posted by a twitter account claiming to be his wife. "I am Fatma Betül Zeybek. My husband, Salim Zeybek was...
Purge-victim teacher dies of cancer: report
Habibe Çınar, a 31-year-old purge-victim Turkish teacher, has died of cancer, the pro-Gulen news portal TR724 reported on Thursday. According to the news portal, Çınar, a mother of two children aged 1 and 5, was initially fired from her job by the Turkish government...
![[VIDEO] Joy after journalist Ece Sevim Ozturk was released from prison](../../wp-content/uploads/2018/12/SSD-400x250.jpg)
[VIDEO] Joy after journalist Ece Sevim Ozturk was released from prison
Turkish journalist Ece Sevim Öztürk, who produced investigative reports on the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, on Tuesday was sentenced to three years, one month and 15 days in prison on charges of supporting a terrorist organization. Öztürk was released pending appeal...
Purge-victim teacher dies of cancer months after being dismissed from his job
A Turkish teacher who was fired from his job at Manisa-based Şehzade Mehmet Ali College with a gov't decree issued after a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, died of cancer on Sunday, a Twitter user under pseudonym @supermenlikzor wrote. "He was my teacher...
Sisters killed, mother seriously injured in traffic accident following visit to ‘Gülenist’ father in prison
Two girls were killed Saturday, while their mother was seriously injured in a car crash while driving back home from a Kırıkkale prison where their father is being held as a post-coup prisoner. According to a tweet by Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a deputy of the...
Greek man moved by Turkish refugees who left 10 euros for wood they took to stay warm
A group of Turkish asylum seekers in Greece has become a sensation after they left 10 euros for the wood they took from a café to stay warm, local media reported Tuesday. “Last night a group of people we came from Turkey. Because of the cold weather we had to make...
Journalist tells story of Turkey’s post-coup detainees tortured in Ankara building
Turkish journalist Cevheri Guven has claimed in a video footage that post-coup detainees are being taken to a specially-equipped building in Ankara where they are subject to torture . In a recent video recording published by the online news portal Bold Medya, Guven...
4.5-month pregnant woman hospitalized weeks after she was jailed
Emine Ay, a 4.5-months pregnant woman who was jailed last month, has been hospitalized due to risk of a potential miscarriage. “I have just talked with the chief physician at the Bitlis State Hospital. She was hospitalized because she had a risk of miscarriage. She is...
Jailed political scientist Türköne seen with daughter in first photo from Turkish prison
Sıla Türköne, the daughter of jailed Turkish journalist Mümtazer Türköne, has said her father will celebrate yet a third birthday in Silivri Prison, sharing a photo with her father taken during a prison visit. The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court on July 6 sentenced...
Body of second child of purge-victim Akçabay family found in Evros River: report
The body of five-year-old Mesut Akçabay, who went missing along with his mother and two other siblings on July 19 when the boat carrying them capsized, was found in the Evros River on Thursday. The Akçabay family — father Murat, mother Hatice (36), children Ahmet Esat...
20-year-old university student in pre-trial detention for 14 months in Manisa — claim
Nuran Gelen, a 20-year-old Celal Bayar University student has been held in a prison in Manisa province for almost fourteen months over his alleged links to the Gülen group, which accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a coup attempt in 2016. According to a...
Purge-victim woman dies of brain tumor
Rukiye Öztürk, a Turkish woman who was removed from her job as a Quran teacher, has died of brain tumor, media reported Wednesday. Öztürk was on public payroll with her job as a Quran teacher registered with Turkey’s Religious Directorate until she was dismissed over...
4 Turkish asylum seekers missing after boat capsizes in Evros river: sources
A woman and three children were reportedly missing after a boat carrying several Turkish asylum seekers capsized in Evros river along Turkey-Greece border. “A boat carrying Turkish purge victims was capsized on Evros River, Greece, a mom and 3 kids lost in flood, a...
WATCH: Emotional reunion of mother, two sons after 8 months in Turkish prison on coup charges
When these two boys finally got to see their imprisoned mother again, cameras were rolling, and so were the tears. Who doesn't love a good birthday surprise? We all know the number one way to surprise a person on their birthday is with a cake at midnight. These boys...
Turkish refugee father waits for papers to visit son diagnosed with cancer: report
Şaban Koçal, a Turkish refugee in Germany, has been waiting for official papers to reunite in Greece with his family, including a 5-year-old son, Nail, who has been diagnosed with leukemia. According to journalist Cevheri Güven, writing on Twitter, Nail Koçal had been...
Report: Former police chief, in pre-trial detention for 23 months, dies of cancer
Former police chief İsmail Ülker, 42, has died of colon cancer after he spent 23 months in pre-trial detention, media reported Sunday. Jailed over his alleged ties to the Gulen movement in July, 2016, Ulker was denied release from prison despite his successive...
5-year-old Turkish asylum seeker in Athens diagnosed with cancer
A 5-year-old boy from Istanbul who, along with his mother, fled the Turkish government’s post-coup witch-hunt to Greece has been diagnosed with leukaemia in Athens. “Nail Koçal, a 5-year-old Turkish refugee in Greece, was diagnosed with leukaemia on Thursday. His...
Man, in hiding from gov’t crackdown, dies due to delayed treatment as wife detained during funeral
A Turkish man, claimed to be a teacher with an outstanding arrest warrant over his links to the Gulen movement, has died during his long overdue treatment at hospital while his wife has been reportedly detained at the funeral. Several social media accounts claimed...
Journalist Ahmet Turan Alkan loses 30 kg during 23 months in pre-trial detention: lawyer
Turkish journalist Ahmet Turan Alkan, in pre-trial detention for 23 months, has lost 30 kilograms during his time behind bars, his lawyer Faruk Zorba said. “Ahmet Turan Alkan has lost 30 kilograms in prison. He did not talk about it but he has medical problems,” Zorba...
![[VIDEO] Jailed doctor did not commit suicide but died due to torture: family](../../wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Screen-Shot-2018-06-06-at-01.58.49-400x250.png)
[VIDEO] Jailed doctor did not commit suicide but died due to torture: family
Family members of İbrahim Halil Özyavuz, a medical doctor who was jailed in May over alleged links to the Gülen movement, said that Özyavuz did not commit suicide as previously reported but rather died after he was subjected to heavy torture by police officers while...
Doctor jailed as part of Turkey’s post-coup purge commits suicide in pre-trial detention
Ibrahim Halil Özyavuz, a medical doctor who was put in pre-trial detention a month ago over his alleged ties to the Gulen movement, has reportedly committed suicide in Silivri Prison. Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a rights defender and a medical doctor himself who was...
Public accountant who lost 52 kg due to lack of medical care in pre-trial detention gets 8 year in prison
Savaş Uyar, a 41-year-old public accountant in Turkey’s Giresun province who lost 52 kilograms during months-long pre-trial detention has been given 8 years of prison sentence. "They did not believe me when I said my husband is extremely sick with tumors along his...
Woman says father-in-law died due to grief over jailed husband
A 58-year-old Turkish man, identified as Mustafa A., has died of a heart attack just two days after his son, a teacher of religious culture who was jailed as part of the government’s post-coup crackdown, had his court hearing postponed, according to family members....
Teacher, diagnosed with cancer after dismissal, dies: report
An Adana-based taecher who was removed from her job as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup crackdown, has died of cancer, according to media. Hatice Ezgi Orçan was diagnosed with cancer after she was dismissed from the post with an emergency decree. The...
Businessmen who spent over a year in pre-trial detention dies of cancer: report
Ali Hocaoğlu, a Turkish businessmen who had spent a year in pre-trial detention over his alleged links to the Gulen movement, has died of gastric cancer, according to media. Izmir-based businessman was jailed as part of an investigation into the Gulen followers in...
Wife died in exile in Greece, brother detained in midnight raid in Turkey
Mehmet Ali Uludağ, a Turkish refugee in Germany who lost his wife to cerebral hemorrhage last week, said that his elder brother has been detained in a midnight raid back home. “My pain has been multiplied now. I have two brothers. One is Veli Uludağ who died as a...
Public accountant loses 52 kg due to lack of medical care in pre-trial detention
Savaş Uyar, a 41-year-old public accountant in Turkey’s Giresun province has lost 52 kilograms during months-long pre-trial detention as he is suffering from several medical problems, according to several sources. Uyar was briefly jailed due to his accounting contract...
4-year-old disabled girl unable to receive treatment in Germany as parents face travel ban due to emergency rule
A 4-year-old girl from Turkey’s Mersin province who has been suffering from microcephaly, a rare medical condition in which the newborn’s skull is much smaller than expected, is unable to leave Turkey as her parents face travel ban due to post-coup emergency rule. In...
Escaped Turkey’s post-coup crackdown to Greece, woman dies of cerebral hemorrhage in exile
A 35-year old Turkish woman, named Esma Uludağ, who fled Turkish government's post-coup crackdown to Greece, passed away on Saturday night due to a heart attack. Esma Uludağ, mother of three children, aged 3, 7 and 10 years old, worked as a civil servant in a district...
Autopsy report confirms: 32-year-old woman with SLE dies in Mersin prison
Halime Gülsu, a teacher who was arrested on Feb. 20, 2018 for alleged links to the Turkey’s Gülen group, died on Saturday in a Mersin prison, an autopsy report of her death confirmed. Gülsu reportedly suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a...
Teacher dies of cancer in pre-trial detention: report
An Elazig teacher identified as Cemal Gürer has died of cancer, according to online news portal Akfifhaber. Jailed over his links to the Gulen movement, Gürer was in pre-trial detention for some time, Aktifhaber said Wednesday. “His cancer problem relapsed while in...
70-year-old retired teacher in pre-trial detention for 19 months in Denizli — claim
Mehmet Yavaş, a retired teacher has been held in a prison in Denizli province for almost nineteen months over his alleged links to the Gülen group, which accused of masterminding a coup attempt in 2016. According to a social media user named Kaya Tunca, Yavaş is 70...
27-year-old teacher infected with HIV virus while in prison: lawyer
A 27-year-old Turkish teacher who was earlier jailed as part of the government’s post-coup crackdown against the Gulen movement, was infected with HIV virus while he was in prison, according to his lawyer. Lawyer Salih Koçak told Cumhuriyet newspaper on March 31 that...
Ankara man missing for 111 days as wife finds his car abandoned with deflated tire
Ümit Horzum, a former public servant who was removed from his job at Turkish Accreditation Agency (TURKAK) in a government’s post-coup emergency decree, has been missing for 111 days while his wife has found his car abandoned with a deflated tire in Ankara. “WITH MY...