News
Muslims, Jews break fast after Yom Kippur
Even before Mustafa Safak arrived at Temple Chai on Wednesday for closing Yom Kippur services, the San Antonio Muslim read up on the traditions associated with the Jewish holiday. Members of Temple Chai attended events this summer marking Ramadan, Islam’s holy month, celebrated June 5 to July 5 this year. “Now they’re reciprocating,” Safak said.
Turks caught up in Gulenists crackdown seek justice
When she returned to her old school to pick up some papers after being suspended, the religious affairs teacher from the Turkish town of Adapazari was braced for some awkward glances. But she was not prepared to be treated as an outcast by colleagues of eight years’ standing. “They wouldn’t even look at me,” says the mother-of-three, dabbing her cheek with a tissue. “It was as if I was a terrorist.”
Massachusetts Judges Express Fears Over Arrests, Firings Of Judges In Turkey
Former Justice Robert Cordy is worried sick about the fate of the judges he helped train in Turkey and here in Boston. They have been fired, jailed, or gone missing. “It’s devastating,” he said. “I don’t think anything has ever devastated me more than seeing this happen to people that I have come to know, love, respect. It is just beyond the pale.”
40,000 people reported to authorities for being Gülen followers since July 15
As many as 40,000 people have been reported to the Ankara Police Department for being followers of the Gülen movement since a failed coup attempt on July 15. Although the movement strongly denies having any role in the corruption probe and the coup attempt, the government accuses it of having masterminded both despite the lack of any tangible evidence.
Nigeria: Our students in Turkey
Nigerian students studying in Turkey have been detained in airports after being interrogated like criminals. About 50 of them were detained in Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport for 11 hours; some were deported, even though they were bona fide students who were yet to complete their studies.
Thousands Are In Turkish Prisons For Downloading This App
The government announced that at least 250,000 people downloaded ByLock on their cell phones. Even tracking this number is a violation of the law, but… oh well, who cares, right? More than 40,000 of these people worked in public institutions and suspected of being sympathizers of the Gulen movement.
Nigeria won’t allow mistreatment of her students by Turkey – Presidency
According to Dabiri-Erewa: “The Federal Government is taking the detention of Nigerian students by Turkish authorities seriously. It seems that Turkey is trying to get at Nigeria for our failure to close down the 17 schools they requested. The government did not close down these schools because their owners and managers, who are private people have not breached Nigerian laws.”
You can’t achieve democracy through military coup – Islamic scholar
“Once again, the Turkish media, under government control or pressure, is circulating horrific rumours, this time about a supposed second coup attempt in the works, supposedly prepared by my sympathizers with the backing of the United States. Such rumours are unfounded and irresponsible,” Gülen said.
For Turkish exiles in New Hampshire: No way back
A Turkish family of four has settled in New Hampshire, fleeing a crackdown in their homeland that has led to the arrests of thousands of civil servants. They can’t go home but they can’t stay here forever; the tourist visas that brought them here will expire. So they wait, and they worry.
Nigeria’s House of Representatives wants Turkey to know that Nigerian lives matter
Nigerian students in Turkey say that the Turkish government has declared a war on them and that they feel targeted, therefore they stay in hiding for fear of being arrested or deported. “We are scared of leaving our rooms for fear of being arrested and charged with terrorism, or deported. There is a man-hunt for Nigerian students in Turkey,” a student told The Cable.
Autopsy proves Turkish military student’s throat slit during coup attempt, sister says
Despite a relentless crackdown against any questioning of the government’s narrative regarding what really happened during a failed coup on July 15, second-year air force student Murat Tekin’s throat was slit by an angry mob, his sister has claimed, backing up her allegation with an autopsy report.
Erdoğan planning to stage another coup in bid to eradicate remaining dissidents, columnist claims
According to TR724 columnist Selin Tanbay, Erdoğan’s speech was nothing but the first signal of what she calls ‘a new plot in the making’ against the sympathizers of the Gülen movement and other dissident voices. Giving his Ramadan holiday message on September 13, Erdoğan kept his eyes away from the teleprompter and let his plans slip out for a while, Tanbay said.
Teacher gets arrested, wife suffers miscarriage amid gov’t crackdown on Gülen movement
A letter sent Turkey Purge has received from the elder brother –known by the initials A.D.– of an arrested school teacher reveals that those detained within past few years as part of the witch-hunt have been subjected to many kinds of ill-treatment under custody.
