Turkish woman returned to prison with newborn 4 days after birth


Date posted: May 28, 2019

Hatice Şahnaz, in pretrial detention on charges of alleged links to the Gülen movement, was put back behind bars in southern Turkey a few days after delivering a baby.

Her four-day-old newborn, Safiye, joined more than 700 children who Turkey is keeping in jail with their mothers.

Relevant laws on the execution of sentences prohibit courts from arresting mothers for six months following birth.

The prison authorities did not allow her to bring in bottles, blankets, a stroller, diapers or clothing for the infant, saying these items could be procured inside.

The young mother was detained in September 2018.

She was arrested over her alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, which Turkey blames for a failed coup in 2016 and outlaws as a terrorist group.

The group denies any involvement in the coup or terrorism.

A petition campaign for her release was launched on change.org.

Source: Turkish Minute , May 27, 2019


Related News

Securitizing the Hizmet / Gulen movement

Turkey’s most influential and widely respected civil society organisation, the Hizmet movement, is under continual attack by PM Erdoğan who accuses it of seeking to establish a “parallel state”. Such rhetoric and ‘securitization’ may destroy the democratic fabric of Turkish society.

EC official: Turkey should address issues within limits of rule of law

Turkey should deal with its problems within the confines of the rule of law and the legal instruments of democratic societies, Alexandra Cas Granje, European Commission (EC) director of enlargement, has said in reference to a recent corruption scandal and draft bill on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).

UN Body Asks Immediate Release Of Arbitrarily Jailed Police Chief

The United Nations’ Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), which works under UN Human Rights Council, has called on Turkish government to immediately release police superintendent Kürşat Çevik who are arbitrarily arrested and still kept in Şanlıurfa prison over his alleged links to the Gülen movement and accord him an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations in accordance with international law.

Hizmet Movement is not interested in attaining political power in Turkey or elsewhere in the world

[Erdogan] has called Hizmet a state within a state, which to me is a strange characterization. To me, that’s like saying that the Catholics are a state within a state in America, or the Jews, a state within a state in America. Those kinds of statements are derogatory, they’re pejoratives. Catholics have a right to seek influence in America; Jews have a right to seek influence in America, that’s how we operate here.

Norway reports 409 Turkish asylum seekers in past 18 months

Norway has said the number of asylum seekers from Turkey has been increasing substantially. 245 Turkish nationals have claimed asylum in 2018, including 142 arrriving in June. The total number of asylum seekers was 164 in 2017, according to Norway’s Directorate of Immigration.

Turkish police raid media close to cleric rival Gulen, detain 24

Turkish police raided media outlets close to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric on Sunday and detained 24 people including top executives and ex-police chiefs in operations against what President Tayyip Erdogan calls a terrorist network conspiring to topple him.

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

Liberian Government: Turkish school to remain open

NGO: plot to take over Turkish schools will fail in Africa

Turkey’s Brain Drain and the Disappearing Academic Freedom

Yamanlar and Fatih High Schools’ success at International Science Olympiads

Will Erdoğan succeed in wresting away the reins of religion from civilian hands?

Look at what International Herald Tribune is doing

PM’s discourse over ‘no family, children’ offensive, hurtful

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News