Emin Çölaşan, a veteran columnist from the country’s left-wing Kemalist daily, Sözcü, has shared a letter from the mother of a disabled man who was arrested as part of a government crackdown against the Gülen movement, in a bid to raise awareness about the victims of Turkey’s post-coup purge.
The woman, preferred to remain anonymous, says his 75 percent disabled son is not even capable of holding his pee but that he was arrested for his alleged use of ByLock mobile application.
Turkish government claims that ByLock is the top communication tool among members of the movement, which it accuses of masterminding a coup attempt on July 15. Critics often blast the government for imprisoning thousands simply for using a mobile application.
The woman says his son never use the app.
“My son was working as a clerk at the courthouse before he was arrested. He has a medical report proving his 75 percent disability. He also has reports that advise him to use diaper.
“The accusation against him is to use ByLock. We actually did not have any idea what this ‘thing’ is before. Police failed to find anything that would link us to a terrorist organization.
“The left leg of my son is crippled. He had two surgeries. He is able to move his leg only with the help of some screws. He had four other surgeries as part of a treatment for compression on his spinal cord neurons.
“He cannot hold his pee and stool. He must use diapers at the age of 25.
“My son cannot live in prison without mother care.
“We have applied authorities to refer him to a general hospital but we had doors slammed on our faces.
“We are desperately waiting. Please, make our voice be heard.”
