Turkey Purge

4 including critical Muslim preacher put in pre-trial detention on terror charges

Alparslan Kuytul, president of the Furkan Foundation and leader of a religious group critical of the Turkish government, has been put in pre-trial detention by an Adana court, the Turkish media reported on Friday. Kuytul and 25 members of the foundation were detained at the end of January by counterterrorism police on suspicion of disrupting […]

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Books, magazines by anti-gov’t Furkan foundation seized as criminal evidence

Adana police seized copies of several magazines and books published by the faith-based, government-critic Furkan foundation. Police stopped a suspected car in Seyhan district to find several books, magazines and electronic devices allegedly belonging to Furkan foundation, which was closed by the government last week. While the driver, identified as Cemal K., was detained, police

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Turkey strips another pro-Kurdish deputy’s parliamentary status, brings total to 7

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) stripped pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) Şırnak deputy Ferhat Encü of his parliamentary status on Tuesday. TMMB’s decision came in the wake of Encü’s prison sentence was upheld by an appeal court. Encu has been recently convicted of making propaganda on behalf of a terrorist organization and sentenced

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Dismissed police officer dies of heart attack in German refugee camp: report

Ali Ünlü, a 42-year-old former police officer who was earlier dismissed from his job as part of the government’s post-coup crackdown, died of heart attack in a refugee camp in Stuttgart, according to media and people with knowledge of the incident. Ünlü, one of over 150,000 people who have lost their jobs over alleged ties

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EP rapporteur: Thousands became victims of massive crackdown on all opposition voices

Kati Piri, the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Turkey, said on Tuesday during a speech in the European Parliament plenary that thousands of people have become victims of a “massive crackdown on all opposition voices” in Turkey, calling on the European Union to be “loud and clear” on the human rights situation in the country. “We, in the

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64 military academy students, officers sentenced to life in prison over coup charges

An Ankara court has ruled for the acquittal of 100 suspects while handing down life sentences to 60 others and aggravated life sentences to four suspects in a trial concerning incidents that took place at the Turkish military academy in Ankara on the night of a failed coup attempt in July 2016. The trial, which

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Chemistry teacher gets 10-year jail time over Gulen links

An Antalya court sentenced a chemistry teacher, identified as A.S., to 10 years in jail on charges of membership to the Gulen movement. State-run Anadolu news agency said Wednesday that A.S., under pretrial arrest for 22 months, appeared before the court for her final hearing. Accused of leading the movement’s women’s network in Antalya, A.S. refused allegations

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Erzurum tea house temporarily closed over Kurdish-language song

A tea house in Turkey’s eastern province of Erzurum was banned due to Kurdish-language songs played in the café, according to media. Mezopotamya news agency reported Tuesday that a tea house in Erzurum’s Karaçoban district was raided by police and military officers and later shuttered for 10 days effective immediately. The reason for the closure

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Enes Kanter faces 4 years in jail for ‘insulting’ Turkish basketball federation head

An indictment filed by the Istanbul police’s cyber-crimes department seeks up to 4 years in prison for the New York Knicks center Enes Kanter for alleged insulting Hidayet Turkoglu. Pro-government Sabah newspaper said Wednesday that the indictment accuses Kanter of insulting Turkoglu several times via social media. The NBAer faces between 1 to 4 years

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Journalist Cem Bahtiyar jailed pending trial over terror charges

Journalist Mete Cem Bahtiyar was arrested pending trial over terror charges, according to Ozguruz online news portal. Detained following a police raid at his home in Balikesir’s Bandirma district, Bahtiyar was put in pretrial detention on Jan 31, Ozguruz said Wednesday. Police seized his computer, cellphone, and books including one by Noam Chomsky. Bahtiyar is

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