Today In Crackdown

At least 87 civilians, including academics and staff from İstanbul University (İU) were arrested early on Friday, increasing the already-high number of intellectuals taken under custody as part of an investigation into the July 15 failed coup. Turkish media outlets reported that after a prosecutor issued detention warrants for a total of 87 people across […]

İrfan Koç, the owner of Onko Koçsel pharmaceutical company was detained over coup charges along with two other executives, on Thursday. According to the state-run Anadolu news agency, police took into custody the owner,  Onko’s general manager Tuğçe Koç and  the human resources director Ayda Onat. Investigation was launched against three after the text of

A court in Turkey’s eastern Hakkari province on Thursday arrested Adile Kozay, the co-mayor of Yüksekova district and Hilal Duman, the co-mayor of Çukurca district on charges of alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Both co-mayors are from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), the local branch of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party

Following the arrest of 10 deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) last month, Turkish police detained Hüda Kaya, another lawmaker from the party, on Thursday. Kaya was detained in İstanbul and was being taken to İstanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan, according to Turkish media reports. She was detained reportedly over terrorism charges due to a speech

Thirty-five people have been detained as part of an investigation conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office into dormitories linked to the faith-based Gülen movement. The prosecutor’s office issued detention warrants for a total of 136 people across 20 provinces. Seventy of those on the detention list were allegedly using a smart phone application

Mardin’s Kızıltepe District Governor Ahmet Odabaş has been appointed as trustee to the Kızıltepe Municipality to act in place of its co-mayors, who were arrested last week over alleged terror links. Following their detention on Nov. 25, Kızıltepe Co-mayors İsmail Asi and Leyla Salman were arrested on Dec. 2 on charges of links to the

The Doğan Group, which owns one of the biggest media companies in Turkey, has put the blame on the faith-based Gülen movement for a record tax fine imposed on the company in 2009, claiming that Gülen-linked inspectors were behind the astronomical fine, according to a story in the Hürriyet daily on Tuesday. The Finance Ministry’s

Ali Özcan, the general manager of Dönerci Ali Usta restaurants chain was detained over his alleged links to the Gülen movement, which the government accuses of masterminding the July 15 coup attempt. Özcan’s arrest was widely mocked on social media as it increased the number of owners of restaurant chains behind bars. Previously, three businessmen

Pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Karayazı district Mayor Mehmet Sait Karabakan and his deputy Zeynep Han Bingöl were detained on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Erzurum province, CNNTürk reported. Police raided and searched the Karayazı Municipal Services Building while Karabakan and Bingöl were taken to police

Tens of thousands of residents of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sur are among an estimated half million people forced from their homes as a result of a brutal crackdown by Turkish authorities over the past year which may amount to collective punishment, said Amnesty International in a new report. As the suppression of