One year after attempted coup, purges have left hundreds of Turkish academics imprisoned


Date posted: July 20, 2017

Eugene M. Chudnovsky

On July 20, 2016, following the failed coup d’état five days earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdoğan declared a state of emergency. It gave him extraordinary powers in cracking down on Turkish citizens suspected of having ties with the organization of Fethullah Gülen, who Erdoğan has accused of orchestrating the coup.

Gülen, 76, is a former Turkish imam living in exile in the United States since 1999. He created a kind of a shadow government in Turkey by planting his followers in the highest echelons of the Turkish military, judiciary, police, media, and institutes of education.

After the attempted coup, college professors have been hit especially hard, thanks to Gülen’s popularity inside Turkish higher education. Turks were encouraged to report Gülen’s followers to the government. Universities have been ordered to establish 7-8 member committees looking into anti-government activities of the faculty and administration.

The committees recommend termination if the accused satisfies any three of eight specific criteria. They include an account in the Gülen-linked Aysa Bank, placing children in Gülen-linked schools, participating in fund-raising events, and having the encryption application BYLOCK (allegedly used by the Gülen organization) on any of their electronic devices. The committee’s recommendation goes to the university rector, who makes the final decision whether to fire the faculty member and whether to report the findings of the committee to the intelligence services.

During the last year, close to 5,000 academics and college administrators lost their jobs. Hundreds have been arrested and jailed, awaiting outcomes of lengthy investigations and trials. Those that have been expelled are prohibited from having government jobs and are in a desperate search for the source of income.

About 100 people have been purged from the University of Ankara alone under the leadership of rector Erkan İbiş, who was reappointed by Erdoğan two weeks after the attempted coup d’état. Thirty-one of the University of Ankara employees have been arrested. A number of university rectors refused to accept the duties of the inquisitors imposed on them by the government.

Internationally-renown Turkish physicist Nihat Berker, who spent 25 years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before returning to Turkey, chose to step down from his position of rector of Sabanci University in Istanbul rather than to comply with the government request.

Rector of the Middle Eastern Technical University in Ankara, Mustafa Verşan Kök, has informed the Council of Higher Education that he will not be presiding over investigations of METU professors. He requested that all investigative activities be delegated to the police and intelligence services.

Erdoğan has repeatedly hinted towards the American hand in the attempted coup d’état. Among academics imprisoned in Turkey is a U.S. citizen, NASA scientist, Serkan Gölge, age 37. In July 2016, he was on a family visit in the Hatay province when neighbors of the relatives reported him to the police.

The first court hearing took place on April 17, 2017. Gölge was accused of membership in Gülen’s organization. He denied all charges. Two other hearings in May and July ended up in a similar fashion.

While in prison, Gölge developed kidney stones and was hospitalized for three days. A request by his attorney to release him on bail was denied by the judge. According to the attorney, the interrogators repeatedly asked Gölge whether he would be willing to return to the U.S. as a spy for Turkey in exchange for freedom.

So far the Trump administration has been silent about the egregious violations of human rights of Turkish citizens by Erdoğan’s government.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, on his recent visit to Turkey, praised the Turkish people for defending democracy against an attempted military coup — regrettably, Tillerson failed to criticize Turkish government for the witch hunt that followed.

Eugene M. Chudnovsky is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a distinguished professor of Physics at the City University of New York and co-chair of the Committee of Concerned Scientists.

If you would like to write an op-ed for the Washington Examiner, please read ourguidelines on submissions here.

Source: Washington Examiner , July 20, 2017


Related News

Tape politics

Someone placed a bugging device to wiretap the prime minister in a room that was being placed under constant surveillance. What is easier than catching the perpetrators behind this? Who entered and left the room should have been recorded. This incident took place in 2011 but as of now, this still remains unresolved and the Hizmet movement is being blamed for it.

Turkish PM asks citizens for help in witch-hunt against Gülen sympathizers

Describing Gülen movement people as “microbes,” the prime minister told citizens to “cleanse the microbes” from society as they serve the country and the nation no good. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had called Gülen sympathizers “viruses” long before Turkey’s massive purge accelerated in the post-July 15 era.

Prime minister’s inconsistencies raise eyebrows

Distortions of the truth and outright lies by Erdoğan regarding the economy, the Gezi protests, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), prosecutors and investigations by prosecutors, the graft investigation and the Hizmet movement are some of what is making Erdoğan’s rhetoric questionable.

27th Abant Final Declaration on Democratization of Turkey

Democratization 1- Turkey’s culture is at present characterized by a susceptibility to in-group / out-group tension, the effects of which impede democratization. Authoritarianism and patriarchal hierarchy are aspects of group culture that are reflected at the family level and scaled up to the political level as majoritarian democracy and internally undemocratic institutions. Two basic institutions […]

Torture – Black Sites of Turkey

In a near-repeat of the CIA’s ‘extraordinary renditions’, the regime of Turkish president Erdoğan is kidnapping dozens of members of the Gülen movement from around the world. Victims are now raising a serious accusation: secret torture sites are part of the repression. A team of nine media organizations from eight countries, coordinated by CORRECTIV, investigates.

Romanian gov’t congratulates Turkish schools for international achievements

Turkish schools’ teachers and students were among those presented with awards in a ceremony at the Prime Ministry in Romania in order to celebrate international achievements in the field of education.

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

What is the problem between the AK Party and Hizmet?

Turkey’s ‘black box’ must be opened

Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticizes Cabinet ruling on Kimse Yok Mu

Turkish finance minister declines to comment on ‘color lists’

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to Pakistan with food assistance

Kanter: You need to know what is going on in Turkey

Teacher gets arrested, wife suffers miscarriage amid gov’t crackdown on Gülen movement

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News