Turkey Continues Its Witch Hunt Against Gülen Followers
Photos of the individuals arrested and detained. Source: Turkish Minute.
Date posted: September 3, 2016
MICHAEL VAN DER GALIEN
The purges continue unabated in Turkey. On Friday, 218 individuals were arrested on charges of being members of a terrorist organization. Another 421 were detained.
These arrests and detentions took place more than 6 weeks after the Turkish military staged a failed coup. In the meantime, not only the military officers responsible for the coup have been arrested, but the same goes for many others: people who had absolutely nothing to do with the coup, but who are simply accused of sympathizing with Fethullah Gülen, the Islamic scholar Turkey says masterminded the coup.
In what’s becoming a repetitive story, a host of journalists, lawyers, teachers and civil servants were among those arrested by the authorities.
All in all, more than 41,000 people have been detained in recent weeks, and more than 22,000 individuals were arrested. According to the latest reports, a sum total of 130,000 people have lost their jobs.
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Chairman of the Kanal D News Group and veteran journalist Mehmet Ali Birand, who advocated more freedoms and democracy in Turkey during a career spanning 48 years, has died. He was 71.Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen expressed his condolences in a statement he released on Thursday night, describing Birand an exemplary journalist who didn’t compromise […]
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Yet another post-coup victim was forced into a black van in broad daylight in Turkey’s capital province of Ankara, according to a family member.
Van NGOs: Calling Hizmet movement ‘virus’ and ‘hashhashin’ unnaceptable
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) active in the eastern province of Van said in a press conference that the tension experienced in Turkey recently has ruined the country and that any remarks or behavior against the Hizmet movement will not be tolerated.
The Government Response to Turkey’s Coup Is an Affront to Democracy
It is vital for Washington and Turkey’s other international partners now to use all their influence to press Ankara to reverse course, to safeguards the rights of those caught up in the purge, and to strengthen rather than weaken the independence of the institutions that underpin it, including the courts, media, universities and parliament itself. The people who died defending it deserve nothing less.
[Cafe Capital] Excessive attempts to manipulate people’s perceptions to backfire
The tension caused by a Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) bill that is designed to restructure the HSYJ, the witch-hunts against police officers, teachers and other public employees who have been profiled as members of the Hizmet community (Gülen movement) and the victimization of tens of thousands of people have created unease among the general public. People started reacting negatively to the accusations and slander, which went far beyond the limits of criticism against the Hizmet community, and started saying: “This is too much!
Turkey: ‘Exclusion for all’ state
Indeed, just last week a columnist in a pro-government daily argued that officials in certain government institutions have been expelled over their alleged ties to the Hizmet movement. This is no different from a witch hunt. In a civilized society, expelling qualified professionals because of their sympathy for a religious and social movement can only be described as discrimination.
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