10-year-old girl dies in traffic accident while on way to visit to imprisoned father
Date posted: June 29, 2017
10-year-old girl of an imprisoned man named Ali Osman Özcan died in a traffic accident while on her way to visit the father in an Elazig prison on Monday.
Betül Seda Özcan, 10, hit the road along with her mother from Kocaeli province to visit her father in a closed prison in Elazig during Eid-Al-Fitr holiday.
When they reached the intersection near the prison in Elazig, Betul Seda let her mother’s hand go in excitement to see her father. She was struck by a car trying to cross the road.
Betul Seda was taken in an ambulance to Firat University Hospital where she later died.
According to media, the father Ali Osman has been, for 6 months, under arrest over his links to the Gulen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. The latter denies involvement in the failed coup.
A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook
Appearing on TV that night, Erdogan claimed no pre-knowledge of the incident and immediately blamed Gulen supporters in the military. However, Western governments and observers were not convinced. Experts noted the implausibility of a civilian living on another continent organizing a military coup and not being detected by U.S., Turkish or other intelligence agencies.
A Letter To The Free World | Hidayet Karaca
Hidayet Karaca, an executive with a leading Turkish TV network, has been in prison since 14 December last year on charges of leading a terrorist group.
EU, US Have Little Leverage as Turkish Democracy Backslides
“In the big picture, Erdogan knows that the EU needs Turkey and will come back begging for a new agreement on the migrants. That’s why he will play a game of brinksmanship,” said Soner Cagaptay, the director of the Turkish program at The Washington Institute.
ISIS ‘Infiltrates’ Erdogan’s Maarif Foundation
There are indications that the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), may have infiltrated the ranks of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), promoters of the recently established Maarif Foundation.
Turkish PM Erdoğan’s imagined enemies
Turkey is no longer the old Turkey. The affluent middle class, the young population and stronger civil society organizations, strengthened by the digital revolution with such tools as social media and Internet portals, will resist any attempts to turn the clock backwards on the development of Turkish democracy. People will simply ask why Prime Minister Erdoğan is not going after his people who have been sleeping with the enemy next door if he is really sincere in addressing external threats to this great nation.
Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case
The signatory states and their courts need to decide where their loyalty lies: With the authoritarian Erdogan government or with the human rights and judicial guarantees solemnly enshrined in their respective constitutions?
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
Mr. Fethullah Gülen’s interview for Moskovskiy Komsomolets newspaper
Burma/Thailand: Deported Turkish Man at Risk
Istanbul court re-arrests former Zaman reporter minutes before leaving prison
Grand Mufti of Egypt: “At least 10 Turkish schools must be opened in Egypt”
The Turkey in Uganda
Turkish Cultural Center Maine honors Governor LePage