The Gülen movement is a worldwide civic initiative rooted in the spiritual and humanistic tradition of Islam and inspired by the ideas of Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim cleric resident in the US. The bases of the movement are diverse service projects that are initiated, funded and conducted by people who are motivated by Gülen’s humanitarian discourse.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the movement since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He locked up thousands, including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigations.
Some of the claims that were part of the corruption investigations were later substantiated in New York federal court where Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla was sentenced to 32 months for conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran and other offenses.
Erdoğan intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.
Following the failed coup, the Turkish government carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. More than 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, as well as 24,706 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.
Such daily activities as having an account at or depositing money in a Gülen movement-affiliated bank, working at any institution linked to the movement or subscribing to certain newspapers and magazines were accepted as benchmarks for identifying and arresting alleged members of the movement.
According to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, a total of 117,208 people have been convicted while more than 600,000 have been the subject of investigation in Turkey due to alleged links to the Gülen movement since the coup attempt.
Ali Babacan, leader of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) and a former heavyweight of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has claimed that President Erdoğan ordered officials to “show no mercy” in the government crackdown following the failed coup and to not care about separating the guilty from the innocent.
During the year Erdoğan continued to relentlessly pursue anyone with alleged links with the movement. They have been targets of hate speech, hate crimes, unlawful prosecution, torture and abductions, among other serious human rights violations.
Here are some of the most important news from 2022 concerning Erdoğan’s crackdown on the Gülen movement:
Decisions and reports by international organizations and foreign governments
UN committee faulted Turkey in case of teacher who died in custody after arrest over Gülen links
The United Nations Human Rights Committee released its decision concerning an application submitted on behalf of a teacher who was allegedly tortured in police custody and subsequently died during a post-coup purge in August 2016, saying the state violated his rights and the rights of his family under several articles of the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). More..
Turkey’s post-coup detention of judges and prosecutors was unlawful: ECtHR
In September, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the pretrial detention of 230 judges and prosecutors after a failed 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was unlawful, holding that Turkey is to pay 5,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages to every applicant. More..
In October, the ECtHR ruled that Turkey violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by detaining 167 judges and prosecutors after the failed coup attempt. More..
In December, the Strasbourg court ruled that Turkey violated the ECHR by detaining 82 judges and prosecutors after the coup attempt in 2016, holding that Turkish government is to pay each applicant 5,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages. More…
UN committee found rights violations in case of teacher arrested over Gülen links, calls for her release
The UN Human Rights Committee has called on Turkey to release a teacher who was arrested in 2018 over alleged links to a faith-based group and pay her damages since the arrest violated her rights under several articles of the UN’s ICCPR. More..
UN committee sought further information from Turkey in case of missing Yusuf Bilge Tunç
The UN Human Rights Committee requested further information from Turkey in the case of former civil servant Yusuf Bilge Tunç, who has been missing since August 2019 and is believed to have been abducted by Turkish intelligence. More..
However, the ECtHR has rejected an application claiming that Turkish authorities failed to carry out an effective investigation into the case of Tunç. More…
ILO questioned post-coup dismissals of union members, lack of reinstatement to jobs
The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations said in a recent report that it notes with concern the high number of rejections by a body established in Turkey after a failed coup to investigate appeals against the dismissal of some 130,000 civil servants by emergency decrees, stating that it has requested information from the Turkish government about the trade union members whose cases were rejected. More..
Turkey violated prisoners’ rights by not granting visits for schoolchildren on weekends: ECtHR
The ECtHR ruled that Turkish authorities violated the ECHR by not allowing prison visits on weekends as weekday visits conflicted with children’s school schedule and interfered with prisoners’ family life, deciding that Turkey was to pay each of the 19 applicants 1,500 euros in non-pecuniary damages. More..
ECtHR ruled Turkey violated prisoners’ rights by uploading their correspondence to judicial network server
The ECtHR has ruled that Turkey violated the right to respect for private life of 14 inmates by uploading their incoming and outgoing correspondence onto the National Judicial Network Server (Ulusal Yargı Ağı Bilişim Sistemi or UYAP). More..
Top Swedish court refused to extradite Gülen-linked former principal to Turkey
The Supreme Court of Sweden refused Turkey’s request to extradite a former principal who used to work at a school affiliated with the Gülen movement in Afghanistan on the grounds that his actions do not constitute any elements of a crime under Swedish law. More..
Brazilian court refused to extradite Gülen-linked businessman to Turkey
Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected an extradition request from Turkey for a businessman due to his links to the movement, saying there is no guarantee the businessman will receive a fair trial if he is extradited. More..
Belgian law firm to take alleged crimes against humanity by Turkish officials to ICC
Johan Vande Lanotte, a legal counsel from the Belgian-based law firm Van Steenbrugge Advocaten (VSA) and a professor of law at the University of Ghent, told Belgian media that lawyers from VSA are going to take evidence of crimes against humanity perpetrated by Turkish state officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC). More..
Ongoing purge
1.7 mln investigations launched in Turkey on terrorism allegations over past 5 years
More than 1.7 million investigations were launched into people in Turkey on allegations of membership in an armed terrorist organization between 2016 and 2021, opposition lawmaker Mustafa Yeneroğlu said, citing Justice Ministry data. More..
24,706 expelled from Turkish military since coup attempt: minister
Turkey’s defense minister has announced that 24,706 personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces have been expelled over Gülen links since the failed coup. More..
Number of Gülen followers in İstanbul prison surpassed all others jailed on terrorism charges
The number of inmates in İstanbul’s notorious Marmara Prison who are imprisoned on alleged links to the Gülen movement exceeds all other inmates in the prison who are jailed pending trial or convicted on terrorism charges.
The name of the former Silivri Prison, where mostly political prisoners are jailed, was recently changed to Marmara Prison. More..
662 employees expelled from foreign ministry in post-coup purge: minister
Turkey has seen the expulsion of 662 personnel from its foreign ministry as part of a purge launched by the government in the aftermath of the failed coup. More..
37 detained across Turkey for helping families of jailed Gülen followers
Thirty-seven people detained in a Bartın-based operation that was also conducted in Karabük, İstanbul and Isparta provinces on terrorism charges for helping the families of people jailed over alleged links to the Gülen movement. More..
Dismissed police officer reinstated to job 3 years after death
Meral Barut, 35, a former police officer who was fired in a wide-ranging purge in the aftermath of the coup attempt and died of cancer in 2019 has been reinstated to her job in May. More..
Turkey’s top court upheld sentences given to 60 former cadets on coup charges
Turkey’s top appeals court has upheld life sentences handed down to 60 former military cadets who were jailed following the failed coup and convicted on coup charges. More..
Court reporters reluctant to cover Gülen-linked trials, media ombudsman said
Faruk Bildirici, a well-known media ombudsman in Turkey, claimed that Turkish reporters have been reluctant to regularly cover trials of alleged members of the Gülen movement. More..
Turkish authorities denied financial assistance to severely disabled teenager due to father’s links to Gülen movement
Turkish authorities denied a severely disabled 15-year-old autistic teenager disability benefits because his father was arrested for alleged links to the Gülen movement. Yakup Ali Çetin suffers from epileptic seizures and hypotonia, a degenerative muscle disease, in addition to autism. More..
Ankara University used profiling files from MİT to justify post-coup purge of academics
Ankara University, where more than 100 academics were fired by government decrees since 2016, has been using profiling documents received from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization to justify the academic purges in court. More..
Hate speech and discrimination
Turkey’s vice president called purge victims ‘terrorists’
Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay called the victims of a massive purge of state institutions “terrorists,” accusing opposition parties of having plans for the reinstatement of former civil servants who were removed from their jobs following the coup attempt. More..
“May I ask who these people are? They are terrorists. Opposition parties should tell people that they will reinstate these terrorists to state institutions,” Oktay said in an interview with the private TV channel A Haber.
Mayor faced probe for employing post-coup victim at municipal company
An opposition party mayor in western Turkey faced an investigation for employing a former judge who was fired in the aftermath of the failed coup at a company owned by the municipality. More..
Turkish expatriate in Germany attacked over Gülen links in apparent hate crime
A Turkish man who has been residing in Germany for 41 years was attacked in an apparent hate crime by the Turkish owner of a kebab shop in Kamen, North Rhine-Westphalia, due to his links to the Gülen movement. More..
Victim of Turkey’s post-coup purge said she was insulted and subjected to physical violence by neighbors
Emine Özdemir Kara, a former public servant who was dismissed by a government decree after the coup attempt, said she was subjected to insults and physical violence by her neighbors in Eskişehir province. “There was one incident where our neighbor forced herself into our home and pushed me onto the couch. She hit me and called me a dirty traitor,” said Kara. More..
Torture and inhuman treatment
Detainees subjected to torture in Ankara police custody
People who were detained in January due to alleged links to the Gülen movement were subjected to torture at a police detention center in Ankara. Some of the detainees were beaten and forced to sign false confessions while in police custody. More..
Lawyers’ report on torture in police custody not published, causes rift in bar association
A report by lawyers from the Ankara Bar Association’s human rights committee on allegations of torture made by detainees held at a police detention center has not been published in 2022, prompting a rift between the rapporteurs and the bar administration. More..
13 students subjected to mistreatment in Bursa police custody
Thirteen students who were detained due to alleged links to the Gülen movement were allegedly subjected to mistreatment while in police custody in the western province of Bursa. The detainees, who were interrogated at the Bursa Police Department for four days without any evidence supporting the claims against them, were allegedly beaten for refusing to accept the accusation. More..
Former academic said he was brutally tortured at Ankara Police Department
Muhammed Savaş Bayındır, a former academic in the law faculty at Ankara’s Gazi University, in a public letter said he was brutally tortured at the Ankara Police Department after being detained in the post-coup purge.
He said he was taken to a filthy back room where he was beaten with a baton. Bayındır recalled he was sprayed with water, stripped and further beaten. “In addition to the physical pain, I felt extremely humiliated,” he said. More..
Ankara Bar filed complaint on allegations of torture at police department
The Ankara Bar Association announced that they filed a complaint against the Ankara Police Department based on nine allegations of torture made by detainees held at detention centers in February and March. More..
Mother and daughter allegedly subjected to strip-search in Amasya prison while visiting family member
The mother of an underage girl said she and her daughter were subjected to a strip-search on Friday while visiting her husband in Amasya E-Type Prison. “The guards shouted at us to remove our underwear, after which they started touching our genitals,” woman said. More..
Former teacher said she was strip-searched in prison and punished for revealing it in letter
Nagehan Yüksel, a former teacher at a religious high school who was convicted of terrorist organization membership due to her links to the movement, has been given a disciplinary punishment for revealing in a letter to an opposition lawmaker that she had been subjected to a strip-search in prison.
“Can you tell the people who say ‘There are no strip-searches in Turkish prisons’ that I was strip-searched by two officers at Eskişehir Prison at 5:45 p.m. on 04.08.2022. When they were going to search me, I asked them if this was a strip-search, and they replied, ‘Yes, this is a strip search.’ I knew the answer to the question, but I wanted it confirmed by them,” she said in her letter. More..
Turkish Prison administration threatened revocation of parole eligibility if sick inmate refuses to withdraw mistreatment complaints
A sick inmate in Afyonkarahisar T-type Prison, notorious for mistreating prisoners, was told to withdraw complaints of mistreatment if he wanted to be released on parole.
Lütfi Koç, who suffers from a brain tumor, was severely beaten by prison guards. He sent a letter to the Turkish Parliament’s Human Rights Committee detailing the incident. The prison administration told Koç that his “good behavior report” would be revoked if he did not withdraw his complaint. More..
Children of the purge: death, disease and separation
Teen took own life over father’s imprisonment in post-coup crackdown
Bahadır Odabaşı, a 16-year-old teenager, died in January by suicide in Turkey’s eastern Diyarbakır province as a result of depression caused by the situation of his father, Nurettin Odabaşı, a former teacher who was fired from his job by an emergency decree and arrested on terror-related charges due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement. More..
11-year-old girl with Down syndrome deteriorated after arrest of her mother on Gülen links
Ayşe Asude Gök, an 11-year-old girl with Down syndrome, stopped interacting with her caregivers after her mother was arrested in March to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement. More..
4-year-old started seeing psychologist after mother’s arrest
Rana Uzunkaya, 4-year-old daughter of a woman who was arrested for alleged links to the Gülen movement, has started to receive psychological help after developing anxiety and social problems. More..
Mother of child suffering from bone cancer serving sentence on conviction of Gülen links
Gülten Sayın, the mother of 6-year-old Yusuf Kerim Sayın, who is suffering from a type of bone cancer, was arrested in December to serve a prison sentence on charges of links to the Gülen movement. More..
Authorities refused to release critically ill mother of 3 arrested for Gülen links
Gülden Aşık, a mother of three who was arrested after being sentenced to six years, three months in prison for alleged links to the Gülen movement, was issued a hospital report saying she was fit to remain in prison despite suffering from thyroid cancer. More..
Mother of 2 hadn’t seen children in 7 months due to distance between prison and home
Zeynep Köyden, a jailed mother of two, said in a letter to HDP deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu that she had not seen her daughters in seven months and requested transfer to a prison closer to her home in Balıkesir. More..
Mothers leaving children to the care of relatives
Döndü Deniz, mother of Sema, 9, Belma, 7, and Semra, 5, was arrested in January for alleged links to the Gülen movement, leaving her children to the care of relatives. More..
Elif Çelik Demir, 42, a former kindergarten teacher and a mother of three, was arrested in January for alleged links to the Gülen movement, leaving her children to the care of relatives. More..
Seher Gök, a mother of three, was arrested in February to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement, leaving her three young children to the care of relatives. More..
Former teacher Nazife Karakoç was arrested in March and sent to a prison in western Izmir province. Her two children, aged four and six, were sent to live with their disabled grandmother in northwestern Tekirdağ province nearly 400 kilometers away. More..
Nagehan Yüksel, mother of three, was arrested in February to serve a nine-year sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement, leaving her children to the care of relatives. More..
Beyza Yıldırım who was arrested due to alleged links to the Gülen movement said in a letter to HDP deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu that her children had been left to the care of relatives. “Why won’ they [the authorities] allow me to be with my children while my husband is imprisoned? They can’t even come to visit me, and I’m afraid my children will grow up motherless,” she said.
Arrest of pregnant women and mothers with infants
Photograph from Izmir’s Şakran Prison revealed large number of children accompanying their mothers
A recent photograph taken in western Turkey’s Izmir’s Şakran Prison has revealed the large number of children who were made to accompany their mothers in prison. More..
An inmate, who preferred to remain anonymous, told a relative during a visit in March that there were currently 14 women and 16 children in one ward. More..
At least 80 pregnant women detained or arrested in Turkey’s post-coup crackdown
At least 80 pregnant women have been arbitrarily detained or arrested over their suspected links to the Gülen movement, as part of the government-led crackdown since the abortive putsch in 2016. More..
Rights activist said Turkish prisons do not accommodate the needs of children who accompany incarcerated mothers
Rights activist Gamze Yentür said in an interview that Turkish prisons do not accommodate the needs of children and infants who accompany their incarcerated mothers, leading to problems in their physical and mental development. More..
Former teacher arrested and sent to prison with 8-month-old baby while trying to flee persecution in Turkey
Former teacher Büşra Çulha was arrested in September and sent to prison with her eight-month-old baby while trying to flee persecution in Turkey. More..
Hasan Semerci, the brother of former teacher Çulha, said after meeting with his sister and niece Bahar that his niece has a serious nutritional problem in prison. More..
Turkish authorities arrested pregnant Turkish asylum-seeker pushed back by Greece
A four-months-pregnant woman was arrested in September in Izmir province after being pushed back from Greece, where she had fled to seek asylum. More..
Mother of 2 announced on Twitter she was taken to prison with her children
A mother of two announced in January from an anonymous Twitter account that she was going to be sent to Ankara’s Sincan Prison with her two young children. More..
9-month-pregnant woman imprisoned over Gülen links despite regulations
A nine-month-pregnant woman Ceyda Nur Eroğlu was sent to prison in May, in contravention of regulations, to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement. The Law on the Execution of Sentences and Security Measures stipulates that even if a pregnant woman is convicted, her sentence shall be postponed. More..
Pregnant woman arrested despite regulations diagnosed with cardiac dysrhythmia in prison
Aslı Ünlü, a six-months-pregnant woman who was sent to prison for alleged links to the Gülen movement in April despite regulations, has been diagnosed with cardiac dysrhythmia. More..
2-month-old baby accompanied mother serving sentence for conviction of Gülen links
Elif Karlıdağ, a mother of two who was arrested in February to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement, is being accompanied by her 2-month-old daughter in prison. More..
2 more children accompanied their mother serving prison sentence for conviction of Gülen movement links
Two children accompanied their mother to prison when Sevim Yıldırım was arrested in February to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement. More..
19-month-old toddler accompanied mother serving 3-year prison sentence
Sevim Yıldırım, a Quran teacher who previously worked at Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate (Diyanet), was accompanied by her 19-month-old toddler Mehmet Halil when she arrived at Düzce Çilimli Prison to serve a three-year sentence on conviction of alleged links to the Gülen movement. More..
Mother of 2 sent to prison with her children over Gülen links
Former teacher Esra Songur was sent to prison with her 22-month-old daughter and three-and-a-half-year-old son for alleged links to the Gülen movement following the upholding of her sentence by the Supreme Court of Appeals. More..
Mother of 11-month-old to serve prison sentence in violation of the law
Sümeyye Aydın, the mother of two children aged 11 months and four years, was sent to prison in December in violation of a law that requires the postponement of the execution of prison sentences for women who are pregnant or have given birth within the last year and a half. More…
Ailing prisoners denied proper care
Abducted teacher said he does not have access to proper healthcare in prison
Zabit Kişi, a former teacher who was abducted from Kazakhstan by Turkish intelligence agency MİT, said in a letter in January to HDP deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu that he did not have access to proper healthcare in prison. More..
80-year-old critically ill inmate complained of lack of proper healthcare in prison
Gürbüz Dönmez, an 80-year-old inmate suffering from prostate cancer, said in a letter to HDP deputy Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu that he has no access to proper healthcare in prison despite being critically ill. The elderly man was arrested in April, 2017 for alleged links to the Gülen movement. More..
Wife of critically ill prisoner urged authorities to release her husband before it’s too late
The wife of Ahmet Zeki Özkan, a 65-year-old man who was arrested in January to serve a sentence for conviction of links to the Gülen movement despite suffering from end-stage cancer, urged authorities for the immediate release of her husband. More..
Another family called on Turkish authorities to release ailing loved one from prison
The wife of a former teacher Veysel Tıkaç, 54, who was imprisoned for alleged links to the Gülen movement, called on authorities to release her husband, saying in an interview that he had chronic heart disease and that his health had deteriorated considerably in prison. More..
Paralyzed woman sent to prison after terrorism conviction on Gülen links
Mehtap Şentürk, wheelchair-bound woman who has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for 14 years, was sent to prison in March after a top appeals court upheld a sentence handed down to her due to her affiliation with the Gülen movement. More..
End-stage cancer inmate fit to remain in prison, said Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine
The Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine for the third time has issued a report saying Yusuf Özmen, an inmate with end-stage cancer, is healthy enough to remain in prison. More..
Chronically ill man serving aggravated life sentence told family his health had deteriorated
Kazım Avcı, 67, who is serving an aggravated life sentence for allegedly violating the Turkish constitution, told his family during a visit in March that his health had deteriorated considerably, and he did not feel fit to remain in prison. Avcı had suffered a heart attack in February. More..
Wife called for release of imprisoned former teacher with thyroid cancer
Wife of 40-year-old inmate Hakan Kanat, who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in October 2021, has demanded the immediate release of her husband along with other critically ill prisoners. More..
Former teacher arrested on Gülen links diagnosed with brain tumor for third time
Abdullah Aslan, a former teacher who was arrested for alleged links to the Gülen movement shortly after surgery to remove a tumor from his brain, has suffered a second relapse and is requesting his release to seek medical treatment. More..
Paralyzed former teacher arrested to serve sentence for conviction of Gülen links
Serife Sulukan, a former teacher who has been suffering from paralysis for 19 months, was sent to prison in May after a top appeals court upheld a sentence handed down to her due to her affiliation with the Gülen movement. More..
Sulukan is almost totally disabled and unable to take care of herself. She also underwent a major heart surgery in September. However, Sulukan was issued a medical report by the Council of Forensic Medicine saying she is fit to remain in prison. More..
Woman imprisoned on Gülen links suffering from leukemia, appealed for release
Suna Halis who was arrested in April for alleged links to the Gülen movement has requested release from prison, saying she has leukemia and needs proper medical care. More..
Health of critically ill man detained in hospital waiting room had deteriorated in prison, wife says
The health of a critically ill man, Yunus Tosun, who was detained in a hospital while waiting for his doctor and later arrested in May, has deteriorated considerably in prison. More..
Health of inmate who had undergone 3 brain surgeries was visibly deteriorating, his family said
The health of former teacher Abdullah Aslan, who has been imprisoned since December 2017 for alleged links to the Gülen movement and who suffers from epilepsy, has deteriorated significantly since major surgery in August. More..
Ailing inmate not released despite eligibility for judicial supervision
Kamil Acar, a 58-year-old prisoner suffering from severe health problems, was not released even though he had been eligible for release under judicial supervision since September. Acar, who has been imprisoned since September 2016 for alleged links to the Gülen movement, had been suffering from kidney failure for four years and heart disease for three. More..
Property rights
Turkey granted immunity to trustees running 682 companies seized after 2016 coup attempt
Turkey granted immunity from prosecution to trustees who were appointed to replace the boards of directors of 682 companies that were seized by the Turkish government over their alleged links to the Gülen movement. More..
Erdoğan forcing TMSF to sell hundreds of companies seized over alleged Gülen links
President Erdoğan has been pressuring Turkey’s Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) into selling some 700 companies seized by the Turkish government over alleged links to the Gülen movement. More..
Student dormitory seized over Gülen links now used as ultranationalist Grey Wolves headquarters in Ankara
A student dormitory seized over alleged affiliation with the Gülen movement after the coup attempt was given to the ultranationalist Grey Wolves to be used as their headquarters in Ankara. More..
Company seized over alleged Gülen links being sold to pro-gov’t firm at rock bottom price
Turkey’s Competition Authority has authorized the sale of a company owned by Naksan Holding, at one time one of Turkey’s largest corporations before it was seized by the AKP government, to a pro-government company at a very low price. More…
In addition to Naksan Holding, the TMSF has taken over major conglomerates including Dumankaya, Boydak Holding, the Koza Ipek Group and Kaynak Holding among 880 other private companies.
Deaths
Bahadır Odabaşı, a 16-year-old teenager, died by suicide in January in Turkey’s eastern Diyarbakır province because of depression caused by the situation of his father, Nurettin Odabaşı, a former teacher who was fired from his job by an emergency decree and arrested on terror-related charges due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement.
Mehmet Ali Gündüz, father of İbrahim Gündüz, a former public prosecutor who died with his wife as they were trying to flee to Greece, passed away in January while he was waiting for his son’s body to be returned from Greece.
Nusret Muğla, an 84-year-old ailing man who was serving a sentence on conviction of links to the Gülen movement, passed away after contracting COVID-19 in prison in February.
Yusuf Bekmezci, a jailed 82-year-old businessman and philanthropist convicted of links to the movement, died in February amid calls for his immediate release from prison.
His daughter Şeyma said her ailing father had been condemned to die in prison, adding that he could barely understand the court proceedings due to his advanced Alzheimer’s and was unable to defend himself.
Ahmet Olgun, a former police officer who was fired from his job by an emergency decree, died after setting himself on fire in March in Turkey’s northern province of Ordu.
Emrah Hızarcı, a former sergeant who was dismissed from the military by an emergency decree, died by suicide in March.
Cemil Karabidek, a former sergeant who was dismissed from the military by an emergency decree, died while trying to cross the Evros River in March.
Mesut Karaboyun, 32, a former noncommissioned officer in the gendarmerie who was dismissed by an emergency decree, died by suicide in March.
Emine Üzel Ahmadı, 29, the mother of a 4-month-old baby and a former lawyer who was dismissed by an emergency decree, died by suicide in May.
Hakan Acar, a former professor who sought asylum in Canada, drowned in June in Ontario’s Lake Simcoe while trying to save another person.
Mehmet Sait Demiröz, a former member of Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals who was disbarred in the aftermath of the failed coup and subsequently jailed due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, died in July after spending a week in the intensive care unit.
Tuğrul Özşengül, 56, a former academic at the Police Academy who was jailed after the coup attempt, died in prison of a heart attack in August.
Abdurrahman Sakar, a former judge who was summarily dismissed from his job by a government decree, died of cancer in August.
Ramazan Açıkgöz, who was convicted of alleged links to the Gülen movement, died of a heart attack in August, one day before he was due to be released from prison.
Tacettin Başer, 58, a father of five, succumbed to cancer in September, two weeks after he was belatedly released from prison despite his deteriorating health.
Mehmet Ali Gündoğan, 47, a former police officer who was summarily fired by a government decree, took his own life in September.
Kani Enön, a former police officer who was fired by an emergency decree, died while working at a quarry in September in Turkey’s northeastern province of Gümüşhane.
Emrah Yıldız, 34, a former sergeant who was dismissed from the service by an emergency decree, was stabbed to death in October in the bus he was driving in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep.
Nahit Emre Güney, a 26-year-old university student, died in October after he jumped from the observation deck of Galata Tower, an İstanbul tourist destination, due to depression caused by the imprisonment of his father in a post-coup purge.
Semih Parıltı, a post-coup purge victim who was dismissed from his civil service job by an emergency decree, died in October after being injured in a traffic accident while working as a deliveryman in the southwestern Turkish province of Denizli.
Hasan Akdemir, a former imam who in 2017 was fired from Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) in a government purge, died of cancer in November.
Hasan Önal, a former police officer who was dismissed from his job by an emergency decree, died in December in a traffic accident while working as a deliveryman in Ankara.
Zeynep Baltacı, 34, a mother of two and former nurse who was fired by an emergency decree, died of cancer in December in Turkey’s southern province of Adana.
A 25-year-old former military cadet who was the subject of an investigation after the coup attempt died by suicide. His identity was not disclosed at the request of his family.
