A former Turkish military officer who was dismissed by emergency decree in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt has died of injuries sustained in a workplace explosion, drawing renewed attention to the long-term impact of the government’s sweeping purges.
According to the TR724 news website, Yusuf Çetin, 38, was severely burned in a explosion at a workshop in western Turkey on May 23. He died Sunday night at İzmir State Hospital after two weeks in critical condition. His funeral was held Monday in the Demirci district of Manisa province.
Çetin, who leaves behind a wife and 5-year-old son, was working at the Aksoy Dyehouse when a dye machine malfunctioned, releasing scalding steam. He and a coworker, Yücel Demirel, were hospitalized with first and second-degree burns.
Çetin was among tens of thousands of military personnel, teachers, judges and other civil servants who were dismissed without trial under emergency decrees in the aftermath of the failed July 2016 coup.
Following the abortive putsch, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. Over 130,000 civil servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, and more than 24,000 members of the armed forces were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.
Critics say the purges have left many unemployed, socially ostracized and blocked from meaningful reintegration into society. Human rights organizations have documented widespread economic and psychological hardship among those dismissed, noting that many face restrictions on travel, banking and employment. With few legal remedies available, some have turned to informal or dangerous labor to support their families.
