Judge suffering cancer jailed in Kocaeli, wife under detention in Tokat


Date posted: July 25, 2017

Mustafa Babayiğit, a Turkish judge who reportedly suffers from thyroid cancer, has been sent to jail by a Kocaeli court, while his wife, Songül Babayiğit who is also a judge, has been held in custody in Tokat.

The judge couple is accused of having links to Turkey’s Gülen group, which the Turkish government accuses of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

The group denies any involvement.

Both Mustafa and Songül Babayiğit were previously dismissed from profession with decrees issued by the Turkish government after the coup attempt.

The purged judges have reportedly two kids.

Turkey survived a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed over 240 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

At least 120, 117 people were detained or investigated and 56,114 people were arrested, according to statistics reported by the Turkeypurge.com

Source: Turkey Purge , July 22, 2017


Related News

Astonishing questions about the failed coup attempt in Turkey

Critics claim that this failed coup attempt was simply a pretext to legitimize arbitrary authoritarian practices, eliminate all the dissent while filling the state apparatus with staunch supporters, and start an ethnic cleansing against sympathizers of the Gulen movement and Alawites.

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.

Erdogan’s False Promises To Africa

The main issue Erdogan raises with his African counterparts is not improving economic and political relations, but the closure of the Gulen movement schools or their transfer to the Turkish Maarif Foundation, which was established solely for this purpose. Mr. Erdogan seems to be using official development assistances and “other financial tools” as carrots to convince African leaders.

Can the EU be blamed for Erdoğan’s authoritarianism?

It may be speculated that the EU’s resistance to Turkey’s European integration has to a certain extent played a role in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s slide into authoritarianism. If the EU had consistently backed its accession process, Ankara may have consolidated democracy and rule of law, so that such a concentration of power could have been avoided.

It is shame not to reopen Halki Greek Orthodox Seminary

Sometimes you need many pages to properly express a feeling or idea. Sometimes a sentence is enough to depict that dominant feeling or idea. This is the very feeling I personally have in the face of the debates concerning the reopening of Halki [Greek Orthodox] Seminary on the island of Heybeliada near İstanbul, which was closed down in 1971 by the interim regime formed in the wake of a military memorandum in Turkey. “Shame” is the only word I can find to describe this feeling.

Rubin says Gülen’s extradition would convince Erdoğan that blackmail works

“If Gülen is turned over, however, I suspect relations will get worse because the extradition will convince Erdoğan that blackmail and bluster work,” said Rubin in an interview published in the Vocal Europe magazine on Monday.

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

Fethullah Gulen in 2 minutes

Abant Platform on Africa to convene on Friday

Buhari’s wife hails culture

Afghan official lauds Turkey’s education drive

Deputies: Turkish Olympiads best response to voices against Hizmet

Turkey’s Ongoing Crackdown: nearly 13,000 police officers suspended for alleged links to the Gulen movement

The Role of The Gulen Movement in the Task of Eco-Justice

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News