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 June 17, 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; (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.
For Immediate Release:
“We’re concerned about the fate of people in Turkish prisons”
Rector, 5 academics detained as part of post-coup investigation
Six academics including a rector were detained at Namık Kemal University in Tekirdağ due to alleged links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15. The detention decision was made for seven academics, six of...
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Former AK Party deputy under custody in post-coup probe
Former deputy of the ruling AK Party Sukru Onder has been detained as part of an investigation into the Gulen Movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt. Police detained Onder in Yalova, on Thursday. Şahin served as AK Party...
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Germany: Man who spied on Kurds for Turkish intelligence received 30,000 euros
German prosecutors have filed espionage charges against a Turkish national, identified as Mehmet Fatih S., for spying on Kurdish expats at Turkey’s request. Federal prosecutors said on Wednesday that 32-year-old Mehmet Fatih S. had worked for Turkish intelligence...
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Another elderly protester suffers heart attack during opposition party’s Justice March
65-year-old Erol Dogan suffered a heart attack on the 7th day of the ‘March of Justice’, a 250-mile walk the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) started against the government’s post-coup rights violations. Dogan was taken to Abant Izzet Baysal...
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Teacher arrested after repairman found Gülen’s audio CD in computer
A Samsun teacher, identified as Osman K., was detained after a repairman found in his computer a CD that features speeches by Fethullah Gulen. Turkish government accuses Gulen of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt while the US-based cleric denies...
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Wife of veteran who lost hand, eyes in bomb attack under custody over Gülen links
Özlem Konakçı, the wife of former bomb disposal expert Bilal Konakçı, was detained over her alleged links to the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the July 15 2016 coup attempt, on June 9. Bilal was retired from his position at İzmir Police...
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Woman detained along with 40-day-old baby while visiting jailed husband
Zehra Elbir, a former court clerk who was earlier dismissed from her job in the government’s post-coup purge of state institutions, was detained only 40 days after she gave birth to her second child during a visit to her husband in prison. Eril Elbir, Zehra’s husband...
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Jailed journalist’s daughter: My father needs urgent medical care
R. G. Çetinkaya, the daughter of jailed Turkish journalist Tuncer Çetinkaya, has written a letter to Turkish Minute in which she explained the deteriorating health of her father, who suffers from a serious kidney problem as well as other ailments and called on Turkish...
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Lawyer: Imprisoned hunger strikers Gülmen and Özakça facing heart failure
Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça, two dismissed educators who have been on a hunger strike for 102 days, are now faced with heart failure, the t24 news website reported on Friday. Gülmen and Özakça were on a hunger strike when they were arrested on terror charges on May...
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60-year old man attends “March of Justice,” sleeps outside to protest son’s arrest on coup charges
A 60-year-old Turkish man whose son has been kept in İstanbul Silivri Prison for over 10 months on coup charges, attended a “March of Justice” kicked off by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Thursday in order to demand his son’s release, Sözcü...
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HRF urges UN to oppose torture on 18 Gülen followers imprisoned in Turkmenistan
In an open letter issued on Tuesday, the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) called on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to speak up against alleged torture on 18 men who were sentenced over their links to the Gülen movement in Turkmenistan, during his...
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NGOs call on Turkmenistan to release 18 Gülen followers tortured during trial
In a written statement issued on June 9, seven non-governmental organizations called on Turkmenistan government to release 18 men, affiliated with the Gülen movement, and to quash their convictions. “A Turkmen court sentenced 18 men to up to 25 years in prison on...
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Human Rights Watch urges Turkey to release Amnesty’s country head
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Thursday called on Turkish authorities to immediately release Taner Kılıç, chair of the board of Amnesty International’s Turkey section, who has been under detention since June 6. The anti-terror unit of the Izmir police on Tuesday detained...
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UN, CoE concerned over Greece’s alleged deportation of Turkish asylum seekers
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on June 8 that the agency is deeply concerned by continued reports about the alleged push-backs and refoulement at the land border between Greece and Turkey. "Such allegations of informal forced...
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Greek police continue illegally returning Turkish asylum seekers back home: report
Greek police continue illegally handing over Turkish asylum seekers back to Turkey, a policy that results in “lambs to the slaughter,” Hellenic League for Human Rights (HLHR) said in a statement on June 6. HLHR is the Greek branch of the worldwide monitoring group,...
read moreHuman 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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