Turkey Purge

820 more personnel discharged from Turkish military

As part of a post-coup attempt witch-hunt targeting the Gülen movement, 820 members of the military have been dismissed from the Turkish Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry said in a written statement on Thursday. According to statement the 820 dismissed military personnel from the land and naval forces do not include generals but only lower-ranking […]

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CPJ’s Turkey blog: Failed coup speeds Turkey crackdown

By Özgür Öğret Police raid newspaper offices, detain at least 23 employees Police in the southeastern Turkish city Diyarbakır yesterday raided the main office of the Kurdish-language daily newspaper Azadiya Welat, according to newsreports. According to the independent news website Bianet, police detained at least 23 employees of the newspaper, beating many of them in

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New interior minister: “Detentions to continue until every last Gülenist is gone”

Newly appointed Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu told the press during a ceremony on Thursday that Turkey will continue its operations against members of the Gülen movement until every last member of it is gone. When taking over the ministry portfolio from his predecessor, Efkan Ala, Soylu underlined that this duty (to eliminate members of the

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80-year-old man detained in handcuffs over Gülen links

An 80-year-old Turkish man with walking and speaking difficulties was handcuffed and detained by Turkish police on Sept. 1 over suspected links to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of masterminding a July 15 coup attempt.  Mustafa Türk was reportedly taken by police from his house in Turgutlu, Manisa province, handcuffed and driven to a

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Police chief who caught Turkish ‘serial killer’ arrested over Gülen links

A police chief who helped catch a Turkish “serial killer” has been arrested in the Menderes district of İzmir over his alleged links to the Gulen Movement which the government accuses of masterminding the failed July 15 coup attempt. Menderes District Police Chief Ramazan Karakuş previously hit the headlines for leading the team that apprehended

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10 more faculty members, university staff arrested on coup charges

At least 10 personnel including academics and staff from Isparta’s Süleyman Demirel University (SDU) were arrested, increasing the already-high number of intellectuals taken under custody as part of an investigation into the July 15 failed coup, on Tuesday. Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 which killed some 240 people and wounded a

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449 arrested, 261 others detained over coup charges on Tuesday

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. While the country marked the national holiday, the Victory Day, police failed to step back in the ongoing purge, on August 30. At least 449 people were arrested,

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Turkish pop singer detained over alleged Gulen propaganda

Turkish pop singer and columnist Atilla Taş has been detained over his alleged propaganda for the Gulen Movement, which the government accuses of heading the July 15 failed coup attempt, on his social media account. Detention warrants were issued for 35 names –most of them being journalists– including Taş, on Tuesday. Known for his critical

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Pro-gov’t columnist: Turkish state must assassinate Fethullah Gülen

Fatih Tezcan, a pro-government public speaker and columnist, said in a video he posted on social media that he is sure the Turkish state had embedded a secret agent in the Gülen movement and that now it is time for him to “terminate” Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. During his 1.08-minute video, Tezcan curses the

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