The victim of a post-coup purge in Turkey who had left the country and was granted asylum in the Netherlands was involved in a traffic accident in Bosnia and Herzegovina while reuniting with his family, resulting in his death along with three of his family members, Turkish Minute reported on Friday.
Ali Osman Çırak, 45, a purged physiotherapist, was killed along with his wife and two daughters when the vehicle he was driving collided with a truck near the town of Radesine during a family reunion on Thursday. The two children succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in Konjic, while a third daughter, who survived the accident, was transported to a hospital in Sarajevo for treatment. She is in critical condition, according to people close to the family.
Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) government declared a state of emergency (OHAL) following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that remained in effect for two years. During the state of emergency, the AKP carried out a purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight by issuing a number of government decrees, known as KHKs, firing around 130,000 civil servants from their jobs due to their real or alleged connections to “terrorist organizations.”
Çırak was to return to the Netherlands on Friday without his family members since his family reunification procedures had not yet been completed by the Dutch authorities.
According to the Netherlands’ Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND), if a refugee applies for family reunification within three months of being granted asylum, the decision regarding the application typically takes between 20 and 24 months.
The long wait times for asylum seekers have caused significant unrest, protests and even hunger strikes at more than 300 reception centers in the Netherlands, according to a 2024 report by the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, some countries have imposed strict time limits for refugees to apply for family reunification, making it difficult if not impossible for refugees to provide all documents needed. Other countries have long waiting times or lengthy processing times, leading to unsafe situations and even longer separation.
Some families like the Çırak family meet in a third country, outside of their home and asylum countries, where all family members can reunite and see each other after long years but comes along with financial and other unexpected challenges.
The post-coup crackdown in Turkey mainly targeted followers of the Gülen movement, a faith-based group inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, whom the Turkish government accuses of orchestrating the abortive putsch. Gülen and the movement have strongly denied involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
A mass dismissal of public sector workers as part of the crackdown was widely criticized by human rights groups and international organizations for its lack of due process and effective remedy.
In addition to removing people from their jobs and permanently excluding them from the civil service, the decree-laws also had secondary implications such as flagging individuals on social security databases in a way that intimidates potential private sector employers and travel bans preventing victims from seeking employment abroad.
Some purge victims who wanted to flee the country to avoid the post-coup crackdown and took dangerous journeys across the Evros River in northwestern Turkey or the Aegean Sea perished on their way to Greece. They had to leave the country illegally due to the lack of valid passports.
