Down Syndrome child accompanies mother in prison as parents jailed over Gülen links


Date posted: October 8, 2017

A 22-month-old child who suffers from Down Syndrome is living in jail along with his mother after both his mother and father were imprisoned in Konya over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, a report said on Saturday.

According to AktifHaber.com website, prison conditions are not appropriate for baby Enis, who suffered gastric bleeding when he was 8 months old and doctors had to establish vascular access for him.

Both of Enis’s parents were teachers and put in pretrial detention over alleged links to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of being behind a failed coup last year.

Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 50,510 people have been arrested and 169,013 have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.

According to a tally by TurkeyPurge.com, over 146,000 people, including teachers, academics, police officers, soldiers, judges and prosecutors, have been dismissed from government jobs, close to 127,000 detained and almost 57,000 arrested on coup charges.

Source: Turkish Minute , September 30, 2017

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Proof of the ‘parallel state’

Referring to a news story that appeared in the pro-government media about unfounded allegations about the police, Bülent Arınç, the second man in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), had said, “A dignified person should not speak without evidence.” Arınç’s words are now being used by opposition parties to criticize the prime minister.

Foreign journalists baffled by gov’t decision to shut down prep schools

SEVGİ AKARÇEŞME, İSTANBUL Representatives of foreign media outlets in İstanbul had a difficult time on Tuesday understanding the rationale behind the government’s decision to close private prep schools across Turkey. The Journalists’ and Writers Foundation’s (GYV) Medialog Platform’s 26th meeting of the “Covering Turkey” seminar series held in İstanbul on Tuesday addressed a highly debated […]

Top judge, paralysed after cancer surgery, under arrest at hospital

A Supreme Court of Appeals member until he was dismissed, Mustafa Erdogan has been kept in a holding cell at a private hospital since Dec. 30, 2016. His daughter Buket Erdogan said the top judge was denied right to “trial without arrest” although he was paralysed after a surgery on his brain.

SP’s Kamalak says MGK, not Hizmet movement, should discuss Kurdish issue

Felicity Party (SP) leader Mustafa Kamalak, commenting on a proclamation made by the National Security Council (MGK) on Wednesday, has said that instead of labeling the Hizmet movement as a “threat to national security,” the MGK should consider the government’s Kurdish policy which is leading to a “division of the country.”

Kids with Down syndrome suffer from major health problems in absence of jailed teacher father

M.O., a dismissed teacher and father of two kids with 92 and 98 percent disability ratings, has reportedly been kept in an Antalya prison for almost 4 months over alleged links to the Gülen movement. “We did not do anything wrong. My kids are 9 and 4 years old. We have no income, no job and no insurance. Nothing,” his wife said.

Journalists and Writers Foundation gathers all colors of Turkey at iftar

The evening began with a concert by a musical group and a welcome message from GYV Honorary President Fethullah Gülen. Many of those present expressed their wishes for peace and tolerance. Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin underlined the importance of the dinner, hoping that Ramadan would be an opportunity to enhance ties with brothers.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

Pregnant woman kept in prison for 4 months over Gülen links despite regulations

Bulgarian student wins Turkish Olympiad song contest final

Is There ‘The Cemaat’ Under Every Stone?

Azerbaijan’s Turkish Schools celebrates 20th anniversary

Why Gulen-sympathizers with their babies risk death to flee Erdogan regime

Turkish women make a difference in Africa

Turkish family detained in Qatar as Erdogan steps up crackdown on Gulenists abroad

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News