60-year old man covers 309 km in 17 days to protest son’s arrest on coup charges


Date posted: July 3, 2017

A 60-year-old Turkish man whose son has been kept in İstanbul Silivri Prison for over 10 months on coup charges, has walked a total of 309 km in 17 days as part of a “March of Justice” kicked off by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on June 15.

Veysel Kılıç’s son was Air Force Academy student and arrested after July 15 coup attempt on charges of attempting to eliminate the constitutional order, attempting to overthrow the Turkish government and the Parliament by use of force and membership in a terror organization.

Kılıç had been holding vigil since August 2016 in front of İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse to protest his son’s arrest until he came to Ankara upon CHP’s declaration of a “march of justice” from Turkey’s capital Ankara to İstanbul on July 15.

He says, “They say we are traitors. All we want is justice, nothing else. I am not asking for the release of my son. 262 of them [ Air Force Academy students] are now in Silivri Prison. This is not about their release, we want justice. We want an indictment to be written, what is our crime? We want to be put on trial, we want an investigation, we want these kids to return to their school. They are as fresh as paint – honest, not guilty. Why would you ruin these rising generations?”

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu started the march at Ankara’s Güven Park with a banner in his hand that read only one word: justice.

At the first day of the protests, Kılıçdaroğlu walked a total of 18 km. It has been 17 days and the CHP leader has so far covered a total of 309 km.

A high criminal court in İstanbul on June 14 handed down a prison sentence of 25 years to Berberoğlu over a report on National Intelligence Organization (MİT) trucks, sending him to prison immediately after the ruling was announced.

Kılıçdaroğlu who spoke to reporters at the Güven Park, said: “We are faced with a dictatorial regime in our land in Turkey. We say, ‘enough is enough.’ Justice has to come to this country. If there is a need to pay a price for this, first, we will pay that price. We need to struggle altogether for the future of this country,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.

The CHP’s “march of justice” is expected to last for 25 days and end in front of the Maltepe Prison in İstanbul where deputy Berberoğlu is being held.

“This march has nothing to do with a political party. Justice, justice, justice. We don’t want a dictatorial regime, we don’t want coup makers, we don’t want those who staged the July 20 coup. We don’t want to live in a country where there is no justice,” said Kılıçdaroğlu.

Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15, which claimed the lives of more than 240 people and injured a thousand others. Immediately after the coup attempt, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) declared a state of emergency on June 20, which is still in effect.

Kılıçdaroğlu refers to the declaration of the state of emergency as another coup because the government has jailed thousands of people and purged thousands of others from state posts on coup charges.

In the meantime, the arrest of Berberoğlu, who would normally enjoy parliamentary immunity, was possible because the CHP and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) had lent support to a proposal submitted by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on removing the immunity deputies from prosecution last year.

The immunity of all deputies who face probes was lifted in May 2016. Currently, 11 HDP deputies are in jail on charges of terrorist links.

Source: Turkey Purge , July 1, 2017


Related News

Gülen calls on corrupt politicians to confess their sins, beg forgiveness

Turkish intellectual and Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen called on senior officials in Turkey on Friday to repent for their sins and lies made to scapegoat others and avoid the blame for their own corruption.

Gulen sympathizer stabbed by pro-Erdogan relative in Belgium

Ibrahim Anaz, one of the executives at a Brussels-based association sympathetic to the Gulen movement, was stabbed by a family member who is a supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to local media.

The irrationality of demanding Turkish schools abroad be shut down

Since last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been constantly “advising” his foreign counterparts to shut down the Hizmet schools in their countries.

Bulgarian student wins Turkish Olympiad song contest final

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL Martin Yordanov from Bulgaria won the most prestigious medal for singing at the 11th International Turkish Language Olympiad on Friday night before a crowd of tens of thousands in İstanbul, beating 14 competitors from various countries. Foreign students fascinated thousands of spectators with their performances in song contest final as part of […]

Black Sunday: The day Turkey detained its prominent journalists

The government-orchestrated crackdown on independent critical media outlets in Turkey took a turn for the worse on Sunday with dawn raids on Turkey’s largest newspaper Zaman and popular national TV network Samanyolu TV that led to the detention of top managers at the media outlets.

TUSKON warns against probing policemen under ‘shadow of politics’

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) said in a statement on Tuesday that the group is closely following the developments after the July 22 raid with “concern” and said it is disturbed of a possibility that the legal proceeding will continue with a number of illegal actions under the “shadow of politics.”

Latest News

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

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Gulen Followers Living in Europe Receive Death Threats, Feel Intimidated

Taliban Shuts Down Turkish Schools in Afghanistan

Wedding gifts will help build dorm and water wells in Tanzania

Pak-Turk School Campus groundbreaking ceremony

Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gulen promotes peace, understanding

1,500 pounds of frozen meat for needy Staten Island families

Former Fenerbahçe chairman Ali Şen’s grandson killed in car crash

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News