
Despite tremendous efforts exerted by the government, only a few countries have given in to pressure from Ankara over the shutdown of Hizmet-linked schools, with a majority of them refusing to meet the demands of the Turkish government.

Filiz Y., a 30-year-old woman who gave birth at Mersin City Hospital last night, has been detained over alleged links to the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

A 12-year-old child has died of brain cancer several months after Turkish border agents seized his and his parents’ passports at İstanbul Atatürk Airport, causing the family to abandon their plans to receive cancer treatment in Cuba.

Brooklyn Amity School became a site where students dealt with all kinds of animals, including alligators, frogs, reindeer, sharks, cows, pandas, bees, and seals. As a host of the First Lego League qualifier competition, 11 different schools came to Amity School. This year, the FLL’s concept was “Animal Allies,” which allowed students to think and act like scientists and engineers.

The R. Shahin Friendship School in Batumi, among the most in-demand schools in the whole country, was denied authorization by the General Educational Authorization Council of Georgia. Fingers are pointed at Turkey’s Erdogan as he is increasing political pressure on the countries where his arch-rival, Fethullah Gulen, still maintains a foothold.

Prof. Hayrettin Karaman, Erdogan’s close friend and religious counsel, and AKP’s main Islamist theologian, has issued a fatwa that legitimizes certain crimes during a civil war. He said, “soldiers who commit ordinary crimes during a wartime shall not be punished.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has added new insults to his rich collection of hate speeches and defamation targeting Gülen movement on Wednesday and said that “Gülen movement members lost their way, and only follow orders from their owner Fethullah Gülen.”

It is not clear when the government will begin auctioning off seized firms. The risk is that the economy may gradually come to resemble Russia’s, where political loyalty is the price for keeping a slice of the pie. “It is like watching a piece of snow roll down a mountain,” says a veteran civil servant ousted in one of the purges. “You think it won’t hit you, until you realise it’s becoming an avalanche.”