Turkey Purge

Hacı İsa Sezek, an 80-year-old Turk who spent 24 days in police custody in Siirt province, was arrested on Tuesday on charges of “membership in an armed organization.” According to the Evrensel daily, Sezek had been denied food and water while in custody and has been suffering from serious health problems. Along with Sezek, Democratic […]

The Turkish Parliament on Tuesday approved an extension of emergency rule a further three months, effective from Jan. 19. The state of emergency, first declared on July 20 for three months following a failed coup attempt on July 15, was extended another three months in October and was expected to end on Jan. 17.

Turkey on Friday closed 94 associations that were active in 20 provinces across the country, the Interior Ministry has announced. According to the ministry statement, 42 of the associations were linked to the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of being behind a coup attempt on July 15.

An Istanbul court, on Friday, ruled on arrest of Ahmet Şık, a prominent Turkish journalist who was detained “for a tweet” he previously posted. According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, Şık is accused of making “terrorist propaganda” and publicly humiliating the Republic of Turkey, its judiciary, military and police force. Şık tweeted early on