Another Turkish national was abducted by Turkey’s intelligence agency on February 16, according to the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy and human rights activist Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu
Erkan Irmak, 43, was reportedly kidnapped in front of his house in İstanbul on the night of Feb. 16, and his family has been unable to reach him since, Gergerlioğlu tweeted.
“Neither the police nor the prosecutor has given an explanation! The country has gone off the rails. [Interior Ministry], why are you silent?” he said.
5 reported missing throughout February 2019
Gergerlioğlu also tweeted that at least five people have been reported missing in Turkey over the past month.
Salim Zeybek — 11 days
Erkan Irmak — 15 days
Yasin Ugan — 18 days
Özgür Kaya — 18 days
Gökhan Türkmen — 25
The first abduction last month came to light on Feb. 6 in Antalya province when Gökhan Türkmen was reported missing by his family.
Yasin Ugan and Özgür Koca were kidnapped in broad daylight on Feb. 13 from their apartment building in Ankara, according to Ugan’s wife.
Computer technician Salim Zeybek was abducted on Feb. 21, his wife announced on Twitter.
There have been many abduction cases in Turkey since a July 15, 2016 failed coup, targeting supporters of the Gülen group. The government holds the group responsible for the abortive putsch and has cracked down on its real and alleged followers. The movement strongly denies any involvement in the attempt.
The group denies any involvement.
[VIDEO] Wife of Erkan Irmak, abducted by an unidentified group of men in Istanbul, says efforts to locate his husband have been inconclusive over the past 2 weeks || https://t.co/IwHi7k6les pic.twitter.com/T0Wf3PKJEc
— Turkey Purge (@TurkeyPurge) March 6, 2019
