Türkiyedeki cadı avının başlamasından sonra Sağlık Bakanlığı, devlet çalışanlarının işlerinden toplu olarak tasfiyesi kapsamında, birçok hekimide içeren 7.500’den fazla sağlık çalışanının görevlerinden alındığını açıkladı.
Tasfiye, işten çıkarılan hekimlerin ve sağlık çalışanlarının, hükümet tarafından şeytanlaştırılmasından ve isimlerinin medyada yer almasından sonra yeni iş bulmada zorlandıkları için yıkıcı sonuçlar doğurdu.
Uluslararası Af Örgütü, Türk kamu sektörü çalışanlarının kitlesel işten çıkarılmalarına, yaşamları ve geçim kaynakları üzerinde yıkıcı bir etkisi olduğundan dolayı “profesyonel bir imha” adını verdi.
Bununla birlikte, Stockholm Center of Freedom (SCF) tarafından yapılan araştırmalar neticesinde, doktorların, tıp profesörlerinin, hemşirelerin, sağlık teknisyenlerinin ve hastane personellerinin de dahil olduğu 21.000’den fazla sağlık çalışanının şimdiye kadar devlet hastaneleri, Tıp fakülteleri ve sağlık kuruluşlarından işten çıkarıldığını göstermektedir .
Doktor Umut’un hikâyesi, Erdoğan rejiminin siyasi temizliğinin yıkıcı sonuçlarına ışık tutmaktadır.
The Ministry of Health has announced that more than 7,500 health care professionals including many physicians have been dismissed within the scope of a mass purge of government employees from their jobs. The purge has resulted in devastating consequences for dismissed physicians as they face hardship in finding a new position after being demonized by the government and their names plastered all over the media. Amnesty International called the mass dismissal of Turkish public sector workers a “professional annihilation” that has a catastrophic impact on their lives and livelihoods.
However, research carried out by the Stockholm
Center for Freedom (SCF) shows that over 21,000 health care professionals
including doctors, medical professors, nurses, technicians and hospital staff have
thus far been dismissed from public and private hospitals as well as medical schools and associations.
Doctor Umut’s story shed light on the devastating consequences of those political purges by Erdogan’s regime.
Academic Purge and Brain Drain of Turkey. It started long before Turkey’s July 15, 2016 botched coup attempt. Slowly but steadily, young professionals, entrepreneurs, engineers, academics and new graduates started leaving their home country in search of a better future.
5,882 academics and 1,372 administrative personnel have been dismissed at universities as part of the Turkish government’s post-coup crackdown.
Over 2,300 have been fired for alleged links to the July 15 coup attempt, while 15 private universities linked to the Gulen movement have been closed down.
This video was prepared by Scholars Right Watch (SRW)
Turkish court dismisses the case of 70 year old male only after his death
Ibrahim Akbaba dies of heart attack at the age of 70 a day after complications resulted from torturous 2 day trip for his trial. Despite Mr. Akbaba’s sever health condition due to his Open Heart surgery and diabetes, he was summoned to appear in court having to travel from Mardin to Edirne on a 2 day trip.
The MP Ebru Gunay of People’s Democratic Party of Turkey brought up in the Turkish Parliament the fact that Mr. Akbaba was not given any medical attention despite his sever health condition leaving him with unable to take his prescribed medications. According to Ibrahim Akbaba’s son Şehmuz Akbaba who is also imprisoned in another penitentiary, the court would not have dismissed the case if it wasn’t for his father’s sudden death. It appears Ibrahim Akbaba dismissed himself out of bureaucratic yet inhumane Turkish justice system with his death.
AST STATEMENT REGARDING GRAVE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN TURKEY ON
HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, DECEMBER 10
Under the state of emergency, imposed after the July 2016 attempted coup and lifted on July 2018, President Erdogan presided over the cabinet, which could pass decrees without parliamentary scrutiny or the possibility of appeal to the constitutional court. Many decrees adopted contained measures that undermine human rights safeguards and conflict with Turkey’s international human rights obligations. The routine extensions of the state of emergency within two years have led to profound human rights violations against hundreds of thousands of people – from arbitrary deprivation of the right to work and to freedom of movement, to torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions and infringements of the rights to freedom of association and expression.
The Erdogan government is showing disregard to the rights of its dissidents. Approximately 217,000 people are detained and over 82,000 people are arrested on terrorism charges. Those prosecuted include journalists, civil servants, teachers, politicians, academics, human rights defenders as well as police officers and military personnel. The prosecutions often lack compelling evidence of criminal activity. Thereby the State officials use torture and ill-treatment in custody, including severe beatings, threats of sexual assault and actual sexual assault, electric shocks, waterboarding and interference with medical examinations.
Public officials continued to be dismissed or suspended by decree without due process, with more than 170,000 dismissed since July 2016. Those dismissed from their jobs lost their income, social benefits, medical insurance, and even their homes, as various decrees stipulated that public servants “shall be evicted from publicly-owned houses or houses owned by a foundation in which they live within 15 days”.
Websites including Wikipedia are blocked. Hundreds of media outlets, associations, foundations, private hospitals, and educational establishments that the government shut down by decrees are still closed, their assets were confiscated without compensation. The states of emergency have been used to severely and arbitrarily curtail the human rights of a very large number of people which is also declared by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
One of the most alarming actions of the Turkish authorities is incarceration of women who are pregnant or have just given birth. Some are incarcerated with their children and others violently separated from them. At this moment, seven hundred forty-three (743) children under the age of six are in jails across Turkey with their mothers, detained or arrested as part of the government crackdown on its dissidents. One hundred forty-nine (149) of these children are infants under a year old. “This is simply outrageous, utterly cruel, and surely cannot have anything whatsoever to do with making the country safer” as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein” also emphasized.
Another alarming action of the Turkish government is the overseas operations conducted by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) to capture perceived political opponents of President Erdogan’s administration. Abductions are perpetrated by violating international legal norms.
We, as Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST), want to emphasize our deep concern and make you aware of human rights violations in Turkey. We want the Turkish government to change its seizure policies and reinstitute human rights all over the country and follow the rule of law. Turkey is in breach of its International Law Obligations. We, as AST urge you to address this situation and attract attention to it in your official capacity. AST urges to stand against the unlawful practices of the Turkish government after the failed coup attempt in July 2016.
In this regard, we call upon the Government of the Republic of Turkey to:
● Stop arbitrary arrests, detentions and wrongful prosecution of political prisoners and release them;
● Stop arbitrary arrests, detentions and wrongful prosecution of women and children;
● Stop illegal overseas operations to capture perceived political opponents;
● Stop, prevent and punish the use of torture and ill-treatment by State officials;
● Reinstate, those wrongly detained, prosecuted and dismissed from their posts;
● Ensure and safeguard the independence of the legal profession.
You can download the AST Statement’s PDF version about Grave Human Rights Violations in Turkey
The Honorable Zeid Ra’ad AI Hussein
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH- 121 I Geneva 10. Switzerland
Email: InfoDesk@ohchr.org
The Honorable Dr. Koumbou Boly Barry
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education
Palais des Nations
CH- 1 2 1 1 Geneva 1 0. Switzerland
Email: sreducation@ohchr.org
The Honorable David Kaye
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression
Palais des Nations
CH- 121 I Geneva 10. Switzerland
Email: freedex@ohchr.org
The Honorable Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi 200/Wetstraat 200 B-1049
Brussels, Belgium
Email: federica.mogherini@ec.europa.eu
The Honorable Thorbjorn Jagland
Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075
Strasbourg Cedex, France
Email: private.office@coe.int
The Honorable Nils Muiznicks
Commissioner for Human Rights
Council of Europe
Avenue de I’Europe F-67075
Strasbourg Cedex, France
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Email: https://register.state.gov/contactus/contactusform
Phone: (202) 647-6575
Twitter: @StateDept
Website: https://www.state.gov/
If you believe your human rights have been violated and you need referrals for assistance or want to share your story, contact our research team
report@aiusa.org
One of the most alarming actions of the Turkish authorities is the incarceration of women who are pregnant or have just given birth. Some are incarcerated with their children and others violently separated from them. At this moment, seven hundred forty-three (743) children under the age of six are in jails across Turkey with their mothers, detained or arrested as part of the government crackdown on its dissidents. One hundred forty-nine (149) of these children are infants under a year old. “This is simply outrageous, utterly cruel, and surely cannot have anything whatsoever to do with making the country safer” as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein” also emphasized.
The Turkish government has seized hundreds of businesses. Many of the owners have fled to Germany. The government accused these owners of supporting the Gülen movement. The government says Gülen was behind the recent coup attempt.
A judge in London dismissed the Turkish government’s request for extradition of businessman Akin Ipek living in the United Kingdom, portraying Ankara’s bid and charges as politically motivated.
Judge John Zani who oversees the case refused the application by the Turkish authorities, citing the high risk of mistreatment in Turkey if Ipek and three other Turkish nationals are extradited back to Turkey.
The Turkish government seized Ipek-owned Koza Media Group, with its newspapers and TV channels, in 2015. The government later moved to confiscate all of his companies and business assets worthy of billions of dollars as part of a massive wealth grab.
Ipek whose own brother has remained imprisoned for two years has lived in London for the past three years. But his self-imposed exile did not spare him from the wrath of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s administration, which incessantly presses the British authorities to extradite the businessman who formerly had cordial ties with Erdogan but later fell out.
The decision by the British judge came as a source of consolation for the businessman and for thousands of others living in the West. The constant fear of the overseas campaigns of the Erdogan government to get them back to the country keep Erdogan’s opponents on edge.
But the Western countries, unlike others with weak rule of law, refuse to cave in to Ankara’s pressure for the extradition of Erdogan critics.
“Great news: UK court ruled today that Turkish businessman Akin Ipek should not be extradited because the case was “politically motivated” and his human rights at risk if returned to #Turkey. @MilenaBuyum and @andrewgardner,” Richard Williams, Amnesty International Turkey Coordinator, wrote on Twitter.
While the development inspired new hopes and led to jubilation among human rights activists and Turkey’s purge victims, it ignited a fierce backlash from Ankara. Justice Minister Hamdi Gul reacted with fury, dismissing the court ruling as politically motivated. He said the decision cannot be accepted and urged the British authorities to rescind it.
