History teacher gives birth to her third child in prison
Date posted: June 29, 2017
Under arrest as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement since Nov 3, 2016, history teacher Özlem Meci gave birth to her third child in prison.
A mother of two, Özlem delivered her third child, named Murat, on Feb 15, 2017 but her requests for trial without arrest have remained inconclusive so far.
A former lecturer at a preparatory school established by followers of the movement in Ardahan Özlem was arrested on charge of attempting to demolish constitutional order and of membership to a terrorist organization.
The government accuses of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and considers it as a terrorist organization. The group denies both involvement in the failed coup and terror charges.
“As far as I know, it is against our Constitution to keep women in prison after they turn the 6th month in pregnancy,” Özlem told the prosecutor’s office in a letter, dated Nov 23, 2016.
Özlem and Murat have been staying at Aliaga prison in the western province of Izmir.
According to recent data released by the Ministry of Justice, more than 2,250 mothers are held in penal institutions, of whom 520 are obliged to raise their 0 to 6-year-old children in prison.
If the government continues to give the impression that it is trying to stop the biggest-ever corruption investigation in the country, Gezi may repeat itself. It is clear that this may harm not only the AK Party, but also the Hizmet movement and Turkey. Only the AK Party can stop this from taking place by convincing people that it is not interfering with the judiciary and that it is fully against corruption.
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At this point, the only thing Erdoğan can do is manufacture false charges and evidence against the Hizmet movement, which wouldn’t be persuasive. In a normal democratic state where the rule of law is cherished, there must be concrete evidence to press charges against anyone, and those so charged are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. In a party state, however, imaginary charges are first voiced and then meddlesome public authorities manufacture crimes and criminals to fit those charges.
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