34 housewives arrested over Gülen links in İstanbul
Date posted: January 29, 2017
Thirty-four housewives were arrested by a Turkish court on Saturday due to alleged use of a smart phone application called ByLock and links to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government blames for a failed coup last July, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
According to the report, police detained a total of 55 women on Friday in simultaneous raids across İstanbul. Of those, 34 were sent to jail late on Saturday, while four were released pending trial.
Arrestees are reportedly accused of using ByLock and attending a pro-Gülen movement meeting in front of İstanbul’s notorious Çağlayan Courthouse on July 2, 2014.
Top union: Closing prep schools to leave 60,000 jobless
Turkey’s largest business confederation, the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges (TOBB), has said a government plan to shut down private exam preparatory schools (dershanes) will leave an estimated 60,000 teachers at these institutions jobless while causing financial losses to investors.
Debate over Turkish government move on prep schools grows
The debate over the Turkish government’s move to shut down private prep schools is growing with a battle of words between the administration and private education representatives. Self-exiled Islamic scholar Gülen, on the other hand, asked his followers “to be resolute and not yield to despair,” in a speech posted on herkul.org, a website that broadcasts his speeches.
Parents: Pak-Turk institutions’ control should not be transferred
Pak-Turk International’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA) on Tuesday stressed against transferring the institutions’ control to other organisations as it will affect the future of its 1500 teachers’ future along with 10,000 students enrolled in 28 schools, colleges. The spokesman urged that if the government found any one from these schools involved in illegal practices, it should take strict action against him.
My husband is being tortured and I am worried about his life
My husband was in an exhausted state when he got into the room. There were punch marks on his face. He was suffering psychologically; he begged not to go back down to the detention room. He was saying “If you wish to give me 50 years in prison, do so, but do not take me down there”.
Diplomatic Row over Gulen Influence in Africa
Turkey’s relations with African countries have been strained following demands by the Turkish government to close Gulenist schools in Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia. After the attempted coup in Turkey on July 15, which the Turkish government has accused Gulen of masterminding, Turkey’s ambassador to Nigeria called for 17 Gulenist schools in the country to be closed.
The Turkey I no longer know
The Turkish population already is strongly polarized on the AKP regime. A Turkey under a dictatorial regime, providing haven to violent radicals and pushing its Kurdish citizens into desperation, would be a nightmare for Middle East security. I probably will not live to see Turkey become an exemplary democracy, but I pray that the downward authoritarian drift can be stopped before it is too late.
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