İ.A.O. was detained in Trabzon prison when she was visiting her husband H.O., who had been earlier jailed as part of the government’s post-coup witch hunt, on Valentine’s Day.
The couple’s 6-year-old son, Y.O. was left under his relatives’ care and İ.A.O was ultimately arrested by a court ruling.
According to Turkish media, H.O was Zaman newspaper’s local representative in Trabzon’s Of district until the paper was closed down by the government after a failed coup attempt on July 15last year.
It has been common occurrence that Turkish police round up suspects when they visit their relatives in prison. On Jan. 23, Ayfer Yavuz was also put in jail along with her four-and-half-month-old infant when she went to Kars prison to visit her husband.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15 that killed over 240 people and wounded more than a thousand others. Immediately after the putsch, AK Party government along with Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement, inspired by US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. The movement denies the accusations.
In the currently ongoing post-coup purge, over 135,000 people, including thousands within the military, have been purged due to their real or alleged connection to the Gülen movement, according to a statement by the labor minister on Jan. 10. As of Feb. 1, 89,775 people were being held without charge, with an additional 43,885 in pre-trial detention. (turkeypurge.com) Feb. 16, 2017
