1-646-504-2088
help@silencedturkey.org

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Detention warrants issued for 79 teachers on Teachers Day

As Turkey celebrates the Teachers Day, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday issued detention warrants for a total of 79 teachers due to alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the report, all of the 79 teachers were dismissed by the government following a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

Teachers Day in Turkey is celebrated on Nov. 24, which marks the day when Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, was declared the nation’s head teacher 86 years ago.

The Gülen movement is accused by the Turkish government of mounting the attempted coup last year, but the movement strongly denies any involvement.

Amid an ongoing witch-hunt targeting the Gülen movement, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Nov. 16 said 48,739 people had been jailed and eight holdings and 1,020 companies seized as part of operations into the movement.

The Turkish 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 on July 15, 2016.

Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15 of last year through government decrees issued as part of a state of emergency.

Source: https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/11/24/detention-warrants-issued-for-99-teachers-on-teachers-day/

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Turkish Family Drowned in Aegean Sea Escaping from Erdogan’s Regime

This statement is a short summary of the Position Paper prepared by the AST to call the international and non-governmental human rights organizations to raise awareness about the drowned Maden family and other families that are forced to take tough choices to escape injustice in Turkey. For detailed information please download the Position Paper below.

Victims of Erdogan’s regime are increasing everyday, as there has not been an effective mechanism preventing him. On November 21, 2017, Greek media reported that Greek authorities have found bodies of five, including three children, short time ago on the Greek Island of Lesvos. Identities of the bodies were revealed through the ID cards found on them, which were handed out to the Turkish police to check the records. On the other hand, relatives of the Maden family have not heard from them for some time. Reportedly, the bodies were the Maden family who has been trying to flee from Erdogan’s Turkey. The father, Huseyin Maden, and mother, Nur Maden, were allegedly linked to the Gulen Movement that has been blamed for everything going wrong in Turkey just like a scapegoat. According to the gathered information, both were sacked from their jobs as a result of the government’s actions targeting everyone in connection with the Gulen Movement. Moreover, there were detention warrants on their names accusing them of being a terrorist, therefore, it was speculated that the family was trying to escape from Erdogan’s autocratic regime in the search for freedom. The Greek police presume that the family was a part of a larger refugee group escaping from the country and thus questioning recently arrived refugees. The investigations are still on going to lighten the case.

We, as the Advocates of Silenced Turkey, are calling all the international and non-governmental human rights organizations to raise awareness about the drowned Maden family and also to take immediate action as regards the problems in Turkey to prevent other families and children from suffering as such.

Download the Position paper: AST_Maden Family Position Paper

STEP 1:
Sign the petition. We will deliver the petitions to international and non-governmental human rights organizations to raise awareness about the drowned Maden family and also to take immediate action.

The petitions will be delivered to following addresses:

COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE, U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION
FREEDOM HOUSE and Annie Boyajian, Advocacy Manager
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (UN HRC)
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT

Or

Express your views or send attached statement to following addresses:

Download sample statement as a word document:  AST_Sample-Statement-for-Maden Family

1) COMMISSION ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE, U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION

234 FORD HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
3RD AND D STREETS SW, WASHINGTON, DC 20515
TEL: 202-225-1901 | FAX: 202-226-4199 |
EMAIL: INFO@CSCE.GOV |
Twitter: @HelsinkiComm | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helsinkicommission/

Chairman: Senator Roger F. Wicker
Address and Contact:
555 Dirksen 555 Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
Main: (202) 224-6253 |Fax: (202) 228-0378 | Twitter: @SenatorWicker

Co-Chairman: Representative Christopher H. Smith
Washington DC Office: 2373 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3765 | Fax: (202) 225-7768 | Twitter: @RepChrisSmith

2) UNICEF

Twitter: @UNICEF | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unicef/

National Committee, New York
Mail Address: United States Fund for UNICEF 125 Maiden Lane, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10038
Phone Number: 212 686 5522
E-mail: http://www.unicefusa.org/about/contact/

Headquarters, New York
Mail Address: UNICEF House 3 United Nations Plaza, New York, New York, 10017, U.S.A.
Phone Number: 212 326 7000
E-mail: http://www.unicef.org/

3) HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Twitter: @hrw | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HumanRightsWatch

NY Address: 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
Tel: +1-212-290-4700
Fax: +1-212-736-1300

Emma Daly, Communications Director
Tel: +1-212-216-1835
Fax: +1-212-736-1300

4) HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION

Twitter: @HRF | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfoundation/

New York Address: 350 5th Ave., #4515 New York, NY, 10001
Phone Number: (212) 246-8486

5) FREEDOM HOUSE

Twitter: @FreedomHouseDC | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreedomHouseDC

For all general inquiries, please contact Freedom House: info@freedomhouse.org or
call our main line: 202-296-5101, fax 202-293-2840
For Congressional inquiries, please email Annie Boyajian, Advocacy Manager, at boyajian@freedomhouse.org

Freedom House Washington Office Address:
1850 M Street NW, Floor 11
Washington D.C. 20036

Freedom House New York Office Address:
120 Wall Street, Fl. 26
New York, NY 10005

6) AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Twitter: @amnestyusa | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amnestyusa

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

7) UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL (UN HRC)

Twitter: @UN_HRC | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UNHRC

Civil Society Section
Phone Number: +41 22 917 9656
E-mail: civilsociety@ohchr.org

8) NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY

Twitter: @NEDemocracy | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/National.Endowment.for.Democracy

CONTACT US (202) 378-9700 | INFO@NED.ORG

9) TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL

Twitter: @anticorruption | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TransparencyInternational/

TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL SECRETARIAT
Address: Alt-Moabit 96 10559 Berlin Germany
General contact:
Telephone: +49 30 3438 200
Fax: +49 30 3470 3912
Email: ti@transparency.org

10) INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Twitter: @fidh_en | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FIDH.HumanRights

FIDH AT THE UN (NEW-YORK)
110 East 42nd street, Suite 1309 NY 10017 New-York
Phone Number: 001 646 395 7103

11) HUMAN RIGHTS FIRST

Twitter: @humanrights1st | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfirst

New York
Human Rights First
75 Broad St, 31st Floor
New York, NY 10004
Tel: (212) 845 5200
Fax: (212) 845 5299

Washington
Human Rights First
805 15th Street NW, Suite 900
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 547 5692
Fax: (202) 543 5999

STEP 2:
Share with your friends.


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Turkey Slips to 99th Place in 113-Country in the Rule of Law Index

Turkey has dropped by eight places from last year in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2016, released today by the World Justice Project (WJP).

Ranked in 80th place out of 102 countries in 2015, Turkey slipped to number 99 out of 113 nations in the 2016 report. It came in 13th among the 13 countries in its region, Eastern Europe & Central Asia, in total score, comprising, in descending order of overall scores, Georgia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia FYR, Belarus, Albania, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Moldova, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Uzbekistan and Turkey.

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Phone stalker accuses socialist actor of being Gulenist, threatens to report to police

The veteran, socialist actor İlyas Salman has become the latest victim of intimidation environment engulfing Turkey especially after the failed coup attempt.A phone stalker threatened to lodge complaint about Salman’s alleged ties to the Gulen Movement after her successive calls were refused by the actor.Filing a counter-complaint to an Istanbul prosecutor, Salman said he received an SMS after several phone calls from a woman named Öznur which read: “I am very sorry. Don’t pick up the phone. I will inform against you as a pro-FETO.”

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