Five hundred ninety-four children under the age of 6 are being kept with their mothers in Turkish prisons, Turkey’s Ministry of Justice said, the Diken news website reported on Tuesday.
Responding to a parliamentary question from pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) İzmir deputy Müslüm Doğan on Tuesday, Turkey’s Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül said as of April 2017 a total of 594 children under the age of 6 were being kept in Turkish prisons along with their mothers.
Children are taken to prison in the absence of family members to look after them. The Turkish government has launched a sweeping crackdown across the country, detaining more than 140,000 and jailing some 50,000 over alleged or real links to a July 15, 2016 coup attempt.
It has become a common occurrence that both parents are taken into custody, leaving no one to care for the children. The Turkish government, on many occasions, has detained pregnant women as well.
A House Divided: Civil Society and Democracy in Turkey
I am of the firm opinion that Hizmet movement had been practically the core civilizing, and transformative engine for strong Turkish civil society in this modern age. The movement has had, without any doubt, facilitated and consolidated Turkey’s strong civil society and democracy.
Turkey’s tryst with democracy (1)
All of Erdoğan’s recent acts reflect a serious deficit of democracy in the ruling government. These acts include making bogus claims of a parallel structure; targeting institutions linked to Fethullah Gülen’s Hizmet movement; embark on a massive reshuffle of thousands of officials without any reasonable grounds; changing the structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) to subjugate the judiciary; openly interfering in the media; strengthening the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and bringing it under the direct control of the prime minister; banning Twitter and YouTube; and speaking with a threatening, bullying and polarizing tone.
Fethullah Gülen’s Statement on the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
As the United Nations and the international community recognize the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, humanity is witnessing the suffering of millions of children, together with their families, from Syria to Yemen, from Libya to Congo, and from Venezuela to Myanmar.
The Gülen movement: advocators of interfaith activities in Turkey
To cover up the [corruption] investigations, the newspapers close to the government use many derogatory labels for the movement, such as “promoters of light or moderate Islam,” “the protestantization of Islam,” “collaborators and allies of foreign intelligence agencies,” and “Christian missionaries under an Islamic guise.”
Afghans collect 1 million signatures to prevent seizure of Turkish schools by Erdoğan regime
Afghans have collected 1 million signatures to prevent the transfer of Turkish schools established by businessmen and operated by educators allegedly affiliated with the Gülen movement for decades in Afghanistan to Erdogan’s Maarif Foundation.
Former minister inquires about secret plot against Gülen movement
Former minister with ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) İdris Naim Şahin has submitted a lengthy inquiry to the Turkish Parliament, asking if there is a secret plot against members of the Gülen movement and if the government has mobilized all its resources to gather evidence through any means.
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