Time for raising voice for Turkey Teachers Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça

Time for raising voice for Turkey Teachers Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça
http://sendika40.org/2017/05/time-for-raising-voice-for-nuriye-gulmen-and-semih-ozakca/
Tarih: 09 Mayıs 2017 Yazdır E-posta
Academics for Peace calls for an international solidarity with academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça, who were unlawfully dismissed by decree law from their positions, and their hunger strike has entered a critical stage

Academics for Peace calls for an international solidarity with academic Nuriye Gülmen and teacher Semih Özakça, who were unlawfully dismissed by decree law from their positions. After protesting this decision with sit-in protest they began their hunger strike and now they entered a critical stage.

Nuriye Gülmen, an academic, and Semih Özakça, a primary school teacher, are two among tens of thousands of public employees who have been arbitrarily and unlawfully dismissed by decree law from their positions since the imposition of State of Emergency rule in Turkey on July 20, 2016.

Demanding their jobs back, they began their sit-in protest on Yüksel Street in central Ankara in November 2016. Following several police attacks and detentions, on March 11, 2017, they began their hunger strike.

Today, May 9, 2017, is the 62nd day of their hunger strike. The government continues to remain indifferent to their rightful demands. Their hunger strike has entered a critical stage, and Nuriye Gülmen had to be taken home yesterday, when her blood pressure dropped severely.

It is imperative that we lend our voice to their rightful demands, and support Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça to secure their reinstatement to their jobs. Several Academics for Peace have already initiated a hunger strike on a rotating basis to display their solidarity with Gülmen and Özakça, and make their voice heard.

At this critical stage, time is of absolute essence.

Tomorrow maybe too late!

It is time for the international community to raise its voice for the struggle of Nuriye Gülmen and Semih Özakça!

If you are in a position to do so, ask your local Member of Parliament to bring up this urgent matter in your national parliament, or at international platforms your country is a member of.

You can also sign the petition on https://www.change.org/p/government-of-turkey-reinstate-nuriye-and-semih-to-their-jobs

On social media, support the hashtag #NuriyeAndSemihAreNotAlone to spread the news, call for solidarity, and ask the government of Turkey to listen to their demands!

You can also contact Turkish embassy in your country. To find the contact numbers and addresses of the Turkish embassies visit: http://www.mfa.gov.tr/yurtdisi-teskilati.tr.mfa

Sendika.Org


Mother of Turkish educator on hunger strike says she 'cannot eat the food her son loves'
Gamze Kolcu - ANKARA

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/mother-of-turkish-educator-on-hunger-strike-says-she-cannot-eat-thefood-her-son-loves.aspx?pageID=238&nID=113106&NewsCatID=339



The mother of Semih Özakça, a Turkish educator who has been on hunger strike for more than 65 days, has told daily Hürriyet on May 14 that she cannot eat the food that her son loves.

“I have to stay strong and not collapse, I feed on food like soup,” Sultan Özakça said on Mother’s Day.

Semih Özakça launched a hunger strike on March 10 after a months-long sit-in protest along with another dismissed academic, Nuriye Gülmen, on Ankara’s Yüksel Street, demanding they be returned to their jobs.

Özakaça, a former primary school teacher at the Mardin Mazıdağı Cumhuriyet Elementary School, and Gülmen, an academic at Selçuk University, were dismissed from their posts along with tens of thousands of others with state of emergency decrees.

After the educators’ health deteriorated following two months of hunger strike, they were taken to their homes, where their mothers are helping ease their strike.

“We’ve waited for a step to be taken [by the authorities]. For us, the most beautiful Mother’s Day gift would be the reinstatement of Nuriye and Semih to their posts, and granting the lives of our children, who are dying day by day,” Sultan Özakça said.

“I want to start a hunger strike myself but Semih is not allowing me. I will always stand by him in this legitimate struggle,” she added.

Nuriye Gülmen’s mother, Cemile Gülmen, said the two were “sitting the most difficult exam of their lives and that they would pass it at the end of their struggle.”

“There is light at the end of every darkness…We’ve waited for a positive step to be taken this week. That would be the most meaningful gift given to us,” Cemile Gülmen said.

“We worry so much for our kids. We want them to be given back their health, jobs and students as soon as possible,” she added.

Sultan Özakça and Cemile Gülmen also thanked the mothers of slain Gezi protesters Ahmet Atakan and Ali İsmail Korkmaz, as the mother of the latter launched a one-day hunger strike on May 14 in a show of solidarity to the two dismissed educators.

“We hold them in high honor. It is very meaningful for them to go on a hunger strike; we also see them as our mothers,” Cemile Gülmen said.

“We knew that it would not be easy. My mother first could not believe and was worried. She said, ‘What if something happens to you? Who cares about the job?’ That she stands by her child, is the most that a mother can do for her child. We’ll not give up. The fact that we are embraced and supported has dizzied us and is very precious, but it is not enough unless we return to our jobs,” said Nuriye Gülmen, who has lost 8 kg.

Semih Özakça told Hürriyet that he was resting and reading books at home during his hunger strike. “They’ll intervene in our hunger strike by force feeding us. There are people who do hunger strikes themselves in order to understand us. If we take action together, this will be a common and powerful voice. We’ll continue with our hunger strike,” he said.

“There are people who say, ‘Now that your voices have been heard and not responded to, should we try other ways?’ We could not have stayed hungry for so many days for no reason. We’ve started this with the aim to finalize this action, with the aim of winning, and will continue with this aim,” he said.
May/15/2017


Turkey: dismissed teachers receive international support
https://ei-ie.org/en/detail/4632/turkey-dismissed-teachers-receive-international-support
Text by: Helena Published: 01.03.2017 Last edited: 03.03.2017
An international trade union delegation has offered support to the thousands of teachers dismissed by the government, and to Education International’s national affiliate, which has suffered severe political repression since the political crackdown began.


A 20-strong delegation of representatives from education unions from the European region, led and organised by Education International (EI) and its European regional office (ETUCE) has travelled to Turkey to show support to its members on the ground and condemn the political repression and unruly dismissals of thousands of teachers by the government. According to Egitim Sen, EI’s national affiliate, more than 105,000 public servants, including 37,000 teachers, have been either dismissed or suspended since the government resorted to repression after the failed coup of July 2016. The union reports to have lost more than 1500 members.

Unruly dismissals, ‘Kafkaesque’ measures

Once dismissed or suspended, teachers have no right to appeal or to apply for a different position in the public school system. This situation is allowed by the emergency state decree, and leaves those dismissed stripped from any rights or benefits, such as pension schemes, health care or social insurance.

After receiving pressure from the Council of Europe, the Turkish government decided to put in place a system of appeals on a case-to-case basis that is not providing tangible results because of its lengthy bureaucratic procedure, the mission learnt. Given the high numbers of teachers affected, this system is unlikely to represent a solution.

International solidarity

This is the second visit in a year by an EI delegation to the country. Led by Christine Blower and Susan Flocken, President and Director of the ETUCE, together with ETUCE Vice-Presidents Odile Cordelier and Trudy Kerperien, and Nicolás Richards, an EI Senior Coordinator, the delegates followed a tight schedule over two days. During that time they met with intergovernmental agencies, such as UNICEF and the ILO, the EU Permanent Mission to Turkey, and were invited to discuss the situation in the embassies of France, Germany and Denmark. The Turkish government did not respond to an invitation to a meeting.

Fred van Leeuwen, EI’s General Secretary, has expressed his solidarity with the Turkish educators and with the mission to the country saying that “the punitive measures taken by the Government against the Turkish education community not only violate human and trade union rights but also pose a threat to quality education for all. In the last months, we have repeatedly appealed on the Turkish government to rescind the unlawful measures and to respect their international commitments and obligations. We have also warned them about the negative effects this situation can have on the future of Turkish society.”

Education International will relaunch its solidarity fund with 65,000 euro in order to support Egitim Sen and individual teachers in their legal battle. The government’s attacks have been a strategic and heavy blow to the union, according to its leadership: of the 1,500 dismissed members of the union, 103 are were executive board members of the union in its different regions, and 16 general secretaries of local branches, among whom the current general secretary of Egitim Sen, Mesut Firat. The solidarity fund will cover their legal support for appeals and livelihood.

The latest efforts were supported and endorsed by EI’s Development Cooperation in January.


Turkish President Erdoğanthreatens the expelledacademicians: “Of coursethey will pay a price”

http://www.freeacademicians.org/index.php/2-page-derek/194-turkish-president-erdogan-threatens-the-expelled-academicians-of-course-they-will-pay-a-price

18 FEBRUARY 2017 PAGE DEREK HITS: 90
Admitting that he is personally behind the expulsion of the last 72 academicians, the president of Turkey further went public to threaten the professors.
Not explaining why there has not been a criminal investigation for the “crimes” committed by academicians Erdoğan lashed out to professors and teachers for resisting his arbitrary firing and gutting universities to the point where faculties are literally facing closures for lack of lecturers.
Using a suspicious coup attempt against his government which many believe was an inside job useful as a smokescreen, Erdoğan has been attacking any and all who would criticize his party’s undemocratic and embarrassingly corrupt regime.
Tens of thousands who have not supported him strongly enough were fired from government jobs including prosecutors, judges, top generals, top and low level police and security forces. The accusations centered around the Islamic cleric who had been a very close and integral part of Erdoğan’s government and had a fall out with him over foreign policy and sharing the loot from rampant corruption.
The Islamic cleric, an ex-partner of president Erdoğan, is Fethullah Gülen, a CIA operative who has been brought to the US to run his global business of private schools to support his Islamic movements. It is widely accepted that the billions of dollars he is allowed to make with CIA cover and support goes directly to terrorist Islamic organizations, especially in the Middle East.
After the fall-out between Erdoğan and Fethullah Gülen, Turkey has been demanding the extradition of the cleric to Turkey to face terrorism and other charges. USA refuses to hand over its asset back to Turkey.
After the July 15th suspicious coup attempt all those who have been critical of Erdoğan and his ruling AKP party have been accused of belonging to the Fethullah terrorist organization which has been named to be behind the strange coup. Many were arrested and faced torture and other abuses. Many events on the day of the coup points to Erdoğan’s pre-knowledge of the uprising but allowing it to proceed to be defeated to give Erdogan a victory and an excuse to get rid of all his adversaries.
The problem with the Turkish government’s accusations is that many dissidents who are staunch defenders of secularism and strongly oppose religion and Islam are the ones getting arrested. There was never an explanation from the government on this contradiction.
The last wave of the attacks fell on academics when the infamous decree number 686 expelled hand picked dissident academics from the universities. The academicians are “accused” of signing a declaration last year calling for peace in the country amidst the government’s ambition to enter a war to please the US and also unprecedented military assaults against its own Kurdish citizens.
Kurdish region in Turkey has been under a brutal military rule for the last few years, however last year there has been an escalation of attacks against the Kurdish citizens. Entire towns have been levelled under Turkish police and military attacks where citizens have been burned alive by the military after taking refuge in the basement of their homes, like in Cizre.
Trying to prevent the escalation of violence both in Syria where Turkey secretly helps the ISIS terrorist organization with full knowledge of the US government and in Kurdistan where civilians have become open targets of the military and the police aided by ISIS fighters inside the country.
All academicians who supported peace is now in the crosshairs of the Turkish government. Although many academicians who support peace are leftists, secularists, and strong anti Islamists, this has not stopped the government, ridiculously, expelling them under the “extraordinary period” decrees brought about to fight the Islamic cleric’s so-called Islamic coup attempt.
As many agree, it seems obvious that targeting the academicians has nothing to do with “fighting Fethullah terrorism” but instead is a punishment by Erdoğan those who oppose his fascist dictatorship and quest for war to please the US.
After the firings, however, the professors and lecturers refused to give in and decided to fight back. Having the entire intellectual and progressive movements and the organizations like The Chamber of Physicians, the Chamber of Engineers and Architects and many labor unions like the second largest labor union confederation in the land, academicians decided to continue their lectures. The university administration then called the police and prevented the teachers to enter the campus. Many professors, men and women, were dragged on the ground, beaten, injured and arrested by the Turkish police for trying to continue their lectures and education with their students.
Seeing the support the academicians are receiving from the people and understanding their resolve to fight back, Erdoğan had to step in to change the perception.
In a speech Erdoğan gave after returning from his trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain yesterday indicated that he has no problem with the expulsion of total 330 academicians for signing a call for peace.
Earlier Erdoğan had attacked the academicians and said, “Hey, you fake intellectuals, you are dark, you are not bright; you are not intellectuals, you are illiterate!”
The language and hatred against the independent academicians makes sense when we are reminded that despite a requirement to have earned a college degree to be the president in Turkey, Erdogan has never been able to provide his college diploma. He has not had a single person remember him from the college he claims he has graduated from. When confronted to present his diploma, the president called for help to his aides who produced not one but two contradictory diplomas that were immediately mocked as being obviously fake. After his “graduation” from college Erdoğan completed his military service as a private. This raises more questions because someone who has a college diploma serves as an officer in the Turkish army.
Accused of not having a college degree and not being able to prove he has one, it is understandable if Erdoğan attacks the professors as “illiterates.”
After his return from visiting the Middle East countries, at the heel of the CIA chief, Erdogan again attacked the professors. He said, “If politicians, bureaucrats or technocrats are paying for their crimes, shouldn’t the professors, assistant professors, or those with PhD degrees also pay for their crimes? I hope they don’t mind, but, if they are in the business of dividing my country and if they are related to Fethullah organization or the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) of course they will pay a price. In a situation like this whatever is legally necessary will take place. Nobody should be bothered by this process.”
However, the president did not volunteer what crime was committed in the peace declaration signed by academicians and intellectuals that stated firmly, “We will not be a part of this crime,” exposing the crimes of the Turkish state and the government.
Sendika.org


TURKEY PURGE IN PAST 30 DAYS: 2125 detained, 580 jailed, 9103 suspended, 3974 dismissed over coup charges
https://turkeypurge.com/turkey-purge-in-past-30-days-2125-detained-580-jailed-9103-suspended-3974-dismissed-over-coup-charges
by TurkeyPurge | May 1, 2017 | Today in Crackdown

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A huge cleansing of Turkey’s state and other institutions is continuing as people from all walks of life find themselves being hunted down and taken into custody.
At least 2125 people were detained, with 580 of them put under arrest, in operations targeting the Gülen movement and Turkey’s Kurdish minority throughout April, according to data compiled by Turkeypurge.com.
The detentions, arrests and dismissals took place between April 1 and April 30.
On April 29, access to Wikipedia was blocked in Turkey as a result of “a provisional administrative order” imposed by the Turkish Telecommunications Authority (BTK).
On April 29, Turkish government issued two new state of emergency decrees, known as KHKs, dismissing 3,974 people including 484 academics from state institutions while banning “wedding match” programs on TV, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
According to the report 1,037, including a general from the Turkish military, 1,127 from the Justice Ministry, 216 from the Ministry of Health, 56 from the Gendarmerie, 120 from the Coast Guard and 201 from the Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet) were dismissed, the highest figures in the new KHKs.
On April 28, at least 13 people including teachers and company executives were detained as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement.
On April 28, two teachers in the province of Bartin received jail terms of 7 years plus 9 months and 22 days, and 7 years and 6 months respectively, as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement.
On April 27, a Kirsehir court sentenced Bekir C., a teacher and the former local representative of the government-closed educators’ union, Aktif-Sen, to 6 years and three months in prison.
On April 26, as part of an ongoing operation launched against the Gülen movement following a failed coup on July 15, the Turkish government suspended a total of 9,103 police officers, the Cumhuriyet daily reported. According to the report, 2,500 of those suspended worked in İstanbul, while 1,350 were in Ankara.
On April 26, at least 803 people were detained as part of an Ankara-based investigation into the Gulen movement. Detention warrants were issued for 4,900 police officers in 53 provinces over their alleged or real ties to the movement, according to Turkish media. As many as 8,500 police officers were ordered to carry out simultaneous raids in 81 provinces to detain their colleagues across the country.
On April 25, at least 14 people were detained in Bolu province as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement.
On April 25, Judges Metin Ozcelik and Mustafa Baser who unsuccessfully ruled in April 2015 to release Hidayet Karaca, the head of the now-closed opposition broadcaster Samanyolu TV, were sentenced to 10 years in jail each on accusation that they had abused their judicial power.
On April 23, at least seven lawyers in the Kütahya province were detained as part of the government’s post-coup crackdown.
On April 23, Kazım Kızıl, a filmmaker and photojournalist known for his documentaries on human rights violations in Turkey, was put under pre-trial detention after being detained by police while covering protests in the aftermath of an April 16 referendum in İzmir, his lawyer said.
On April 22, at least 53 people were detained as part of an Istanbul-based investigation into the Gülen movement while 22 others were put in pre-trial arrest after 3 days under detention in the western province of Izmir.
On April 22, The Kastamonu-based student dormitory principal, identified as Z.E., received a jail sentence of 6 years and 3 months for his ties to the Gulen movement.
On April 21, nine women were detained as part of an operation targeting the alleged followers of the faith-based Gülen movement in an operation based in the western province of İzmir.
On April 21, as part of a Kayseri-based operation, detention warrants have been issued for 25 teachers who were earlier dismissed from their positions, due to their use of a smart phone application called ByLock.
On April 20, the İstanbul 64th Penal Court of First Instance fined columnist Tuğrul Çelik TL 4,391 for “insulting” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son Bilal Erdoğan in an article published by the Türk Solu daily on Oct. 25, 2015.
On April 20, Turkish prosecutors issued detention warrants for a total of 85 people across 23 provinces due to their alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement.
On April 20, the Erzurum-based teacher, identified as Fatih G., has received a jail sentence of 6 years and 3 months for his ties to the Gulen movement.
On April 20, forest engineer, identified as Savas A., received a jail sentence of 6 years and 3 months for his ties to the Gulen movement.
On April 19, Meltem Oktay, a reporter from now-closed pro-Kurdish DİHA news agency, was sent to prison on charges of “disseminating terrorist propaganda” and “membership in an armed terrorist organization,” the T24 news portal reported.
On April 19, at least 14 executives of the Kimse Yok Mu aid organization’s local branch in Samsun province were detained as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement.
On April 19, as part of an investigation launched into the outlawed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Burcu Çelik was arrested by a Muş court for “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “attempting to destroy the unity of the state and nation.”
On April 19, Turkish media reported that police detained a total of 38 people in İstanbul who took part in demonstrations in protest of a decision by the Turkey’s Supreme Board of Election (YSK) to consider unstamped ballots cast in a public referendum on Sunday valid.
The detainees, accused of making propaganda to question legitimacy of the referendum result, were reportedly taken to the İstanbul Police office.
On April 19, an Ankara court arrested a lieutenant who was dismissed from the military and his wife for watching a video of Fethullah Gülen, a US-based cleric accused by Turkish authorities of masterminding a failed coup attempt in Turkey last summer.
On April 19, at least 18 more Sutcu Imam University academics and personnel were detained over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
On April 18, Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced that a total of 651 people were detained in operations targeting the Gülen movement between April 10-17.
The statement further revealed that 711 were detained for allegedly aiding or abetting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) over the past week. While 170 were taken into custody on links to the Islamic State in the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the ministry said another 10 were detained for their alleged ties to the “leftist terrorist organizations.”
On April 16, Hakan T., a Kurdish civilian, was arrested by a Bursa court on Monday for wearing a T-shirt featuring an independent Kurdistan map while voting in a referendum on a switch to an executive presidency.
On April 16, A.A. and T.D., two teachers who were earlier dismissed from their posts as part of a post-coup crackdown on the Gülen movement, were taken into custody on Sunday at a school in Malatya where they stopped to cast their votes in a referendum on a switch to an executive presidency.
On April 14, an indictment drafted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office sought three consecutive life sentences for 16 people, including prominent Turkish journalists, on coup charges.
The suspects mentioned in the indictment are former Zaman daily CEO Ekrem Dumanlı, former Today’s Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş, Samanyolu TV Washington representative Şemsettin Efe, Zaman daily journalist Abdülkerim Balcı, Zaman former deputy editor-in-chief Mehmet Kamış, Zaman executive Faruk Kardıç, Zaman daily design director Fevzi Yazıcı, Zaman brand manager Yakup Şimşek, Zaman culture and arts editor Ali Çolak, journalists Nazlı Ilıcak, Emre Uslu, , Ahmet Altan and Mehmet Altan, Professor Osman Özsoy, academic Şükrü Tuğrul Özşengül and a twitter user, Tuncay Opçin.
They are accused of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order, the Turkish government and the Turkish Parliament.
On April 14, At least 16 people were detained in the western province of Izmir, including a 50-year-old hairdresser, identified as İ.D., who used to give haircut to Fethullah Gülen during 1990s.
On April 11, co-Chairperson of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Figen Yüksekdağ was sentenced to one year in prison for “disseminating the propaganda of a terrorist organization.”
On April 11, Gabriele del Grande, an Italian journalist working for the ANSA news agency, was detained during a security check in the southern province of Hatay.
On April 11, an indictment prepared by an İstanbul prosecutor sought three consecutive life sentences for 30 individuals who include journalists and executives from the now-closed Zaman daily on coup charges.
The Zaman daily, which was affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement, was first seized by the
Turkish government in March 2016 and the closed down by a government decree in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
There are a total of 30 suspects in the indictment, 21 of whom are jailed. Mümtazer Türköne, Şahin Alpay, Ali Bulaç, Ahmet Metin Sekizkardeş, Ahmet Turan Alkan, Alaattin Güner, Cuma Kaya, Faruk Akkan, Hakan Taşdelen, Hüseyin Belli, Hüseyin Turan, İbrahim Karayeğen, İsmail Küçük, Mehmet Özdemir, Murat Avcıoğlu, Mustafa Ünal, Onur Kutlu, Sedat Yetişkin, Şeref Yılmaz, Yüksel Durgut ve Zafer Özsoy tutuklu, Ahmet İrem, Ali Hüseyinçelebi, Süleyman Sargın, Osman Nuri Arslan, Osman Nuri Öztürk, Lalezer Sarıibrahimoğlu, Nuriye Ural and Orhan Kemal Cengiz are mentioned as suspects in the indictment.
On April 10, Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced that a total of 963 people were detained in operations targeting the Gülen movement between April 3 and 10.
On April 10, an indictment prepared against 77 academics from the Bolu-based Abant İzzet Baysal University (AIBU) sought up to 15 years in prison each of 75 and up to 22 years for the remaining two.
On April 10, Hüeyin Korkmaz, a 40-year-old marble cutter, was arrested for insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Korkmaz was detained after he reportedly swore at Erdogan during Republican Peoples’ Party (CHP) referendum campaign activities in Tekirdag’s Ergani district. According to Turkish media, Korkmaz grabbed a mic at the campaign bus immediately after other campaigners departed the vehicle at a local bazaar.
On April 10, at least 5 people were detained in Kutahya as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement.
On April 9, an indictment prepared against Levent Pişkin, a lawyer representing Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, revealed that he is charged with offenses including being a member of a Whatsapp group created by the party’s Istanbul organization.
On April 9, a Batman court handed down an arrest verdict for 25 individuals from different backgrounds including teachers, small business owners, doctors, pharmacists, military personnel and NGO workers over coup charges.
On April 8, an Ankara court ruled for the arrest of 5 executives from the two companies that used to provide food and construction materials to the government-closed education institutions affiliated with the Gulen movement.
On April 7, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for 38 people working for the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) on allegations that they have links to the Gülen movement.
On April 7, at least 25 individuals, including high-ranking military officers, were detained as part of two separate investigations into the Gulen movement.
According to state-run Anadolu news agency, detention warrants were issued for 12 people in a Manisa-based probe and 13 others in a Karabük-based probe. The detainees included university students, small business owners, corporate executives and high-ranking military officers.
The officers were identified as follows: Ş.Ö., M.Ç., Ş.Ö., K.O., A.Ç., O.E., A.C., R.V., C.S., E.D., H.K., R.İ., M.Ç.
On April 6, Diyarbakir-based Amedspor player Deniz Naki was given suspended prison sentence of 18 months and 22 days due to his social media posts that the judge in charge claimed to be a part of terrorist propaganda.
On April 6, At least 28 individuals were detained as part of two separate investigations into the Gulen movement.
Detention warrants were issued for 21 people in a Nigde-based probe. While 14 of them have been rounded up in Nigde and Ankara so far, the detainees included university students, academics, small business owners and corporate executives. They are accused of having used ByLock, a smartphone app that Turkish prosecutors claim to be top communication tool among the movement supporters.
Meanwhile, 14 others were detained in a separate investigation in Izmir’s Seferihisar district the same day.
On April 6, an Istanbul court ruled that the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) takes over the administration of Hasan Gultekin Gaziantep Baklavacisi, an 8-store baklava chain.
According to Turkish media, Hasan Güc, the deputy governor of Istanbul’s Kagithane district was appointed as a trustee to run the company hereafter.
On April 6, Nismiye Guler and Zeynep Turgut, reporters for the Diyarbakir-based multilingual online news portal, Gazete Sujin, were detained by police. Two reporters were on way to cover an event in Van’s Tatvan district when police rounded them up.
On April 5, an İstanbul court ruled for the arrest of 30 lawyers as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
With the ruling, total number of imprisoned lawyers across Turkey reached to 400.
On April 4, an Ankara prosecutor has issued detention warrants for 41 employees of Turkey’s Court of Accounts due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement.
The detention warrants were issued by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office for 41 people across seven provinces.
On April 4, seven teachers were detained while having a picnic at an İstanbul park over alleged links to the Gülen movement.
On April 3, at least 5 people in Antalya’s Gazipasa district were taken into custody as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement. The detainees were Gazipasa airport’s manager C.A., a doctor at Gazipasa State Hospital, two small business owners and a firefighter.
On April 3, an Antalya court re-arrested a total of 16 individuals including journalists and police officers over their alleged links to the Gülen movement shortly after their release by another court previous week.
On April 2, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu that a total of 113,260 were detained as part of investigations into the Gulen movement after July 15 coup attempt.
On April 2, ten businessmen were sent to prison In Kayseri over their alleged use of a smart phone application known as ByLock. The arrestees are identified as follows: S.A. E.M.B., S.S., B.E. F.K., S.F.S. M.G.U., F.K., M.C., and O.K.
On April 2, at least 16 civilians were jailed over similar charges in Manisa, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
ByLock is considered by Turkish authorities to be the top communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement. Tens of thousands of civil servants, police officers and businessmen have either been dismissed or arrested for using ByLock since the failed coup attempt.
On April 2, a total of 39 people, including businessmen, housewives were arrested by an Ankara penal court of peace.
On April 2, at least 12 people, including one high-ranking military officer who was reportedly dismissed from Turkish military after the coup attempt, were sent to jail over alleged links to the movement In Kahramanmaraş.
On April 1, at least 15 people the central Anatolian province of Kayseri were detained as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement.