Turkey’s looming prison massacre grows nearer

Photo credit: TurkeyPurge.Com
Photo credit: TurkeyPurge.Com


Date posted: November 17, 2016

Michael Rubin

Based on a number of conversations with Turks in the security forces, press as well as some whose family members have been arrested in the widespread purge which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unleashed in the wake of the abortive July 15 coup, I had speculated that Erdogan might massacre political prisoners under the guise of crushing a fictitious prison riot.

Now, according to the Turkish press, it appears that the liquidation of prisoners may be getting nearer. A few days ago, a parliamentarian from Erdogan’s ruling party threatened to have people invade the prisons and slaughter the prisoners. It appears Erdogan fears that if the judiciary begins trial for key political prisoners, the prisoners would have a venue at which to speak and raise questions Erdogan does not want addressed, especially with regard to the possibility that the events on the evening of July 15 were Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag fire. As far as Erdogan is concerned, burying prisoners might bury discussion of his own crimes.

Is such a fear justified? Consider the following from some on the ground near the prisons: Erdogan has installed anti-aircraft weaponry in Sincan and Silivri prisons where majority of the coup prisoners are kept. There are now reportedly tanks in the Silivri prison, apparently aiming at Building Nine, where Yakup Saygili, the police chief who carried out the corruption investigation into Reza Zarrab which also implicated Erdogan and his sons, is incarcerated. AKP trolls have been circulating kill lists on which Saygili and other prominent prisoners’ names are listed.

Here’s the danger: Erdogan considers President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry to be weak. At the very least, he realizes that their bark is worse than their bite. If Erdogan orders his forces to fire on the prisons—maximum security facilities where many prisoners are sitting ducks in their cells—the worst he believes he will receive are self-righteous tweets from Kerry or perhaps Samantha Power, US ambassador to the United Nations. Erdogan believes whatever punitive policy they might dish out will last only until the Trump administration takes office. This is one of the reason why the recent rhetoric about Turkey on the part of Vice President-elect Mike Pence and presumptive National Security Advisor Michael Flynn have been quite dangerous.

Sometimes dictators seek praise not because they want rapprochement, but rather because they believe it signals a green light to reprehensible actions.

Source: American Enterprise Institute , November 17, 2016


Related News

Ethiopian schools linked to Turkish cleric are sold to German educators

A network of schools in Ethiopia linked to Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen is changing ownership. The sale of the Nejashi Ethio-Turkish International Schools follows pressure from the government of Turkish President Erdogan, who is urging countries that host institutions inspired by Gulen to close or take them over.

Hizmet-affiliated educational institutions succeed in TEOG exam

The results of the Transition from Primary to Secondary Education (TEOG) exam that was administered on Nov. 26-27 and Dec. 13-14 to eighth graders across Turkey show that students who prepared for the exam in Hizmet movement-affiliated schools did better than those who studied in other institutions.

AK Party criticizes Hakan Şükür’s sudden resignation

Turkish media claimed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the leader of the AK Party, said, “He [Şükür] resigned on an order [from the Hizmet movement], this is not a decision he can make alone.” However, AK Party spokesman Hüseyin Çelik denied the prime minister had made those comments. “I have spoken to the prime minister, everybody should know that he has not made such a statement,” Çelik said.

Real Islam can eliminate radical groups in Islamic world, say analysts

MESUT ÇEVİKALP, ANKARA Several terrorist attacks over the past weeks carried out by radical groups in different countries who claim to act with Islamic motivations are seriously damaging Islam’s image, and the best response to such groups is to show the entire world the real face of Islam, which carries the meaning of peace, analysts […]

Probe launched into daily Taraf for attempting to cause chaos

The complaint was based on the content of newspaper articles written by Yıldıray Oğur, Ali Karahasanoğlu, Alper Görmüş and Cem Küçük that are being used by the plaintiff as evidence of Taraf’s “crimes.”

Graft probe in Turkey: Path and passengers

The problem is not to side with the Hizmet movement or the AK Party. No one objects to the fight against corruption. But it is not possible to argue that what has been happening is all about corruption right now. Tensions should not be escalated or provoked further. I believe that promoting reconciliation is the best option. If you ask whether or not it possible, I would say, “Yes, it is still possible.”

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu volunteer doctors back from Central African Republic

Erdogan’s problem with his well-educated citizens

Fethullah Gulen on attempts to associate Hizmet with terrorism and ISIS

Votes of religious orders and communities [in Turkey]

GYV president Usak passes away in exile

Erdoğan Is Destroying Turkey’s Hopes for Democracy

Diagonal Dialogue from Turkey to Senegal

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News