Turkish Woman, Arrested During Husband’s Funeral, Separated From Son
Date posted: June 23, 2018
Esra Celik whose husband died during medical surgery was arrested by the Turkish police during the funeral ceremony as part of the post-coup crackdown on government opponents.
Mehmet Celik, 30, was on the wanted list of the authorities for his perceived affiliation with Gulen Movement.
He had a lung problem but was unable to seek medical treatment due to the detention warrant. Finally, he decided to go to the hospital for a treatment. He was late for treatment but doctors decided to carry medical surgery due to the seriousness of his illness. He died during second surgery on Saturday.
On Sunday, Esra Celik was arrested by police in front of his two-year-old son other relatives during the funeral ceremony with no reason offered.
She was separated from his son and was imprisoned pending trial.
Daily Trust Editorial: In Turkey, fresh affront on democracy
The AKP government, under emergency rule, has taken over hundreds companies, seized the assets of businessmen and shut down institutions linked to the movement. Despite the fact that Gülen denied the accusation and called for an international investigation into the coup attempt, President Erdoğan – calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” – and the Turkish government launched a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement.
Mother of 2 detained while visiting jailed husband during Eid holiday
42-year-old Ozen Alkan was detainedon Monday, June 26 while she was visiting her husband, already under arrest over his alleged links to the Gulen movement. It was the second day of Muslim festival of Eid-Al-Fitr on Monday.
In an exclusive interview with FRANCE 24, Fethullah Gulen admitted meeting a key figure in Turkey’s July 2016 attempted coup. But the Turkish cleric said that a mere visit from one of his followers isn’t proof he orchestrated the failed coup.
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.
Infiltrating or contributing?
None of the academics in attendance reported finding any sign of attempts by movement members to overthrow democracy or even to “grab a bigger share of the pie” for a new elite, shady or otherwise.
Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?
Erdogan’s government has made Gulenists “the enemy you ascribe to everything that goes poorly in Turkey,” according to Henri Barkey, a fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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