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


Related News

An ‘impossible’ choice: Leave 5-year-old son in foster care or risk being tortured

Nehir Aydin could be forced to make what she calls an “impossible” decision: either leave her five-year-old son alone in Canada, making him a ward of the state, or return to Turkey with him, where she and her family are at risk of persecution because of their religious beliefs.

8,480 Turkish nationals sought asylum in Germany in 2017

The number of Turkish citizens who sought asylum in Germany in 2017 totals 8,480, according to Deutsche Welle.

Woman detained over links to Gülen movement after giving birth

A woman was detained less than 24 hours after delivering a baby yesterday for alleged affiliation with the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen. Betül Uluçam, 34, was detained in the hospital where she had given birth less than a day before.

Keep Incirlik, Extradite Gülen?

A true ally would not try to obstruct the international campaign against the Islamic State for the sake of a leader’s personal vendetta. To acquiesce to the extradition [of Fethullah Gulen] would be to signal that it’s open season to blackmail the United States.

The Turkish Connection: Pak-Turk Schools

The network of [Pak-Turk] of schools came under the media scanner last month, after the Turkish government demanded that Pakistan close down the entire network following the failed army coup to overthrow Turkish President Erdogan. Since then, Erdogan has ordered a ruthless purge and arrest of anyone even suspected of having links with his political rival, Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdogan holds responsible for the coup attempt.

Azerbaijan detains Turkish teacher under UN protection as wife fears deportation

Taci Şentürk, a Turkish teacher who was working in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, was taken by police to an unknown place after UN officials stopped his deportation to Turkey at Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport on June 7, his wife 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

Some states use religion for wars, says Catholic Bishop in İstanbul

Turks most honest donors to Somalia, says minister

Turkish Schools inspired by Gulen becoming global brands

Turkish school in Romania moves to new building

German Lawmakers Call for Probe on Imams Suspected of Spying for Turkey

Thai minister thanks to Turkish schools for contribution to education

EU expresses concern over declaration of Gülen movement as terrorist without due process

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News