8-year-old cancer patient denied passport due to father’s alleged links to Turkey’s Gülen group


Date posted: November 21, 2019

Ahmet Ataç, an eight-year-old kid with stage four bone cancer, has reportedly been denied a passport by Turkish authorities due to the his father’s ongoing imprisonment over alleged links to Turkey’s Gülen group.

The group is accused by the government of masterminding a coup attempt in 2016.

According to Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a pro-Kurdish deputy in Turkey, Ahmet’s father has been held in prison for over 19 months on terror and coup charges. His mother was also detained several times over the past month on similar charges.

Ahmet has a stage 4 bone cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate for the most advanced stage of bone cancer, or osteosarcoma, is only 27 percent. Ahmet’s mother says that scientists at the Immune-Oncological Centre in Cologne (IOZK) may actually have a way to cure her son, if he is given a passport to go to Germany, of course.

Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen group, inspired by US-based Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen.

Source: Turkey Purge , November 20, 2019


Related News

Decision to build road on school grounds nonsensical, say parents

Following the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality and Güngören Municipality’s decision to build a road within the courtyard of a private school affiliated with the Hizmet movement this week, the school management made a statement on Friday, saying that the parents of students at the school find the decision nonsensical.

Pundits: plans to close down Turkish schools abroad arbitrary, political vandalism

Turkish intellectuals are increasingly voicing concerns about the government attempt to close down the Turkish schools that provide an education to thousands of students abroad, saying the move is personally motivated and unwise.

Mother of 6 under arrest as police fail to locate husband suspected of Gulen links

Meryem Senturk, a Zonguldak woman and a mother of six, was arrested after police failed to locate his husband who has been under investigation over his alleged links to the Gulen movement, on July 19.

Critics locked up at home as President Erdogan arrives in India

“I have no family to look after me here, and an arrest warrant has been issued for me in Turkey. All three of my business partners and the CEO of my company have been jailed in Turkey. I lead the life of a fugitive,” he says. Salman is wary of providing details about himself or his family, and refuses to be photographed. “My wife and daughter are still there, I don’t want to put them in trouble,” he says.

IFJ representative denied permission to visit journalist Karaca in prison

The Justice Ministry has rejected a request from a coalition of international journalist organizations to visit imprisoned Turkish journalist Hidayet Karaca at Silivri Prison in İstanbul.

KYM Calls for Papers-International Conference on “Social Media for Good”

International Conference on Social Media for Good aims at systematizing and improving existing models on social media, suggesting new innovative approaches and practices, using their effectiveness in enhancing goodness and philanthropy, and resolution of social problems.

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

Countdown for operation against Hizmet Movement

Arrest of Kanter’s father underscores deepening tensions between U.S., Turkey

2017 model bigotry: Defamation of Jews and Gulen movement in Turkey

Minister Çelik supports Gülen’s call for Alevi-Sunni brotherhood

MP close to Gülen quits ruling AKP, slams accusations against Islamic scholar

3 dead, 5 missing in attempt to escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown

Politics and communities

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News