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.
The Filipina mother who forcibly was separated from her infant and detained in Turkey for weeks has been released. But their reunion is being cut short by her deportation, in the crackdown following a failed coup in which she had no part. Information is being withheld from Karen’s lawyer and the Philippine Embassy staff assisting her. Forcible separation of an infant from her mother is a humanitarian concern.
Gülen-linked journalist association warns that movement’s support for gov’t can end
Erdoğan and his supporters have cast the corruption probe as a smear campaign devised by Gülen, who exercises broad, if covert, influence in the media and judiciary through his followers. In response, the government has staged an unprecedented purge of the police forces and has moved to increase its control over the judiciary. Yeşil said that all these allegations were unfounded.
You cannot explain it!
Preparations are being made to create the grounds for accusations of a gang or terrorist organization, which has been tried many times before. Is it not possible for a criminal complaint to not be filed against a certain group of people if the prime minister of the country accuses them every day? There is now pressure on the judiciary
Erdogan’s Arch-Enemy Accuses Turkish President Of Staging Coup, Compares Him To Hitler
And as many expected, Erdogan once again accused Gulen of being responsible for the Friday coup, no matter how ridiculous such an allegation sounded. This time Turkey went so far as accusing the US of being “behind the coup” for harboring Gulen. As for Gulen’s position, he had denied as recently as yesterday.
Erdoğan’s ‘Reichstag fire’
Whatever faint hopes there may have been in Washington and Europe that he would capitalize on the outrage over the attempted putsch among the Turkish population and the political opposition to show a commitment to democratic ideals quickly faded, however.
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 as her brothers have been under arrest for months.
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