Today In Crackdown

A Canakkale-based university student, identified as U.A., was rounded up for wearing a T-shirt bearing the words “part time hero,” Turkish media reported on Sunday. The incident came amid consecutive detentions of people who wore ‘hero’ T-shirts across the country. Gendarmerie forces detained U.A. in Sevketiye village where he had reportedly come for work, upon […]

A Turkish man resident in Germany was detained at the Turkish border due to his social media posts allegedly insulting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Deutsche Welle reported on Friday. A 45-year-old Turkish expatriate in Germany, Kadim D. was going to his hometown of Sivas for vacation. However, when he was entering Turkey by car at

An Istanbul psychologist, identified as E.E., was sentenced to 10 years and 6 months in prison on accusation of membership to a terrorist organization on Thursday. The reason for the conviction, Istanbul 29. Heavy Penal Court said, E.E.’s alleged use of ByLock, a controversial mobile app that Turkish authorities claim to be the top communication

Under pre-trial arrest since Apr 1, 2017, M.C., a factory worker from Kayseri was sentenced to 6 years plus 3 months in prison on accusation of membership to a terrorist organization on Thursday. The reason for the conviction, Kayseri 4. Heavy Penal Court said, M.C.’s use of ByLock, a controversial mobile app that Turkish authorities

Yusuf Karataş, a columnist at Evrensel daily newspaper, was put in pre-trial arrest as part of an investigation into the Democratic People’s Congress (DTK), the largest political forum gathering held by Kurdish non-governmental organizations in the recent past. Diyarbakır 1. Criminal Judicature of Peace arrested Karataş for attending DTK’s gatherings and sent him to Diyarbakır D

A Turkish prosecutor has issued detention warrants for 38 former Customs and Trade Ministry staff members over the use of a smart phone application known as ByLock. The detention warrants were issued as part of an investigation in nine provinces into Turkey’s Gülen group, which is accused by the Turkish government of having masterminded a

The Turkish Parliament has stripped two more pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies of their parliamentary status due to their “absence” from the parliament. HDP’s Van deputy Tuğba Hezer Öztürk and Şırnak deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız were removed in a vote on Thursday. The parliamentary status of HDP Co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ was removed in February after the Supreme

A group of some 200 villagers have been detained by police for blocking a developer from cutting several 10-year old pine trees in Manisa’s Yunusemre district, Birgün daily reported. The villagers reportedly started camping out to save the pine trees from clear-cut by the Housing Development Administration of Turkey (TOKI). Following a 10-hour long vigil around

At least 275 people were detained over their alleged links to the Gulen movement, according to Turkish media. Turkish government accuses the movement of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt while the latter denies involvement. In Hatay, 33 people including the former public employees who were dismissed from their jobs were detained for having