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

Self-criticism by the Hizmet movement

Hizmet is composed of volunteers who are heterogeneous in terms of religiosity, ideology, lifestyle, occupation, degree of involvement in Hizmet activities and so on. Since Hizmet is not a hierarchical organization, it does not have a headquarters. As a result, it is difficult to talk about Hizmet’s mistakes. One can talk about the mistakes of some Hizmet volunteers or institutions that are affiliated with Hizmet.

Post-coup purge in Turkey leaves children parentless after mother and father are put behind bars

Turkey’s post-coup purge is continuing to hit children, leaving them parentless in myriad cases, shattering their families, disrupting their education and upending their emotional life.

Germany investigates possible anti-Gulen spies

German police have raided apartments of four men suspected of carrying out espionage on behalf of the Turkish government. The men, said to be clerics, are accused of spying on supporters of cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey’s Ongoing Crackdown: nearly 13,000 police officers suspended for alleged links to the Gulen movement

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suspended nearly 13,000 police officers over suspected links to Fethullah Gulen, the U.S.-based cleric Turkey says is responsible for the July 15 coup attempt. Erdogan’s critics believe he has used the coup as an opportunity to crack down on his political opposition. Erdogan was often accused of trying to silence critics.

Afghan Students, families baulk at Turkey taking over schools

A number of parents of students at Afghan-Turk Schools on Saturday said at a meeting in Kabul they support the continuation of the schools in the country and do not want control to be handed over to the Turkish government.

Prep school debate [in Turkey] continues

According to Bugün columnist Adem Yavuz Arslan, some newspapers, such as Akit, use very harsh language against the Hizmet movement in the prep school debate. Arslan wrote that newspapers are free to criticize things, but the criticism cannot be made as a form of revenge. The right to open a prep school is a democratic right, Arslan said.

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

Men accused of attempting to rape 6 teachers: We thought they were Gulenists

Shocking change and disappointed hearts…

Hizmet keeps school and cultural center in São Paulo

Turkish gov’t jailed not only journalist Karaca, but also his lawyers and the judges who ruled to release him

Reflections on my first trip to TÜRKIYE

8-year-old cancer patient departs to Germany for treatment without parents due to ongoing travel ban

Thousands congregate in New York to share iftar joy

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News