Turkish police have detained 11 people, including 5 children, in Yenikadın village of Edirne province as they were trying to flee from Turkey to Bulgaria on Tuesday. While 6 people have been kept under police custody the 5 childeren were handed over their relatives. It was reported that 2 of the detainees have outstanding detention warrants over their alleged links to the Gülen movement.
A Turkish family of five had drowned in Aegean Sea as they were trying to flee from the persecution of the despotic regime of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Greek island Lesvos. The bodies recently found by Greek authorities on Lesvos island has been reported to be belong to Turkish Hüseyin Maden’s children.
Meanwhile, 5 more on-duty military officers were detained on Tuesday in a Kocaeli-based investigation targeting the alleged members of the Gülen movement. Thus, the number of the detainees has increased to 27, including 26 on-duty military officers. The detentions came following the warrants issued by Kocaeli Chief Prosecutor Office for 30 on-duty military officers in 16 provinces over their alleged links to the movement.
Also in Kütahta province 9 people were detained over their alleged use of mobile phone messaging application ByLock on Tuesday. It was reported that the detainees include 3 women and farmers, teacher, imam, shopkeeper and students.
Turkish authorities believe that ByLock is a communication tool among the alleged followers of the Gülen movement. Tens of thousands of people, including civil servants, police officers, soldiers, businessmen and even housewives, have either been dismissed or arrested for using ByLock since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempton July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15, 2016. Turkey’s Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 50,510 people have been arrested and 169,013 have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.
