Vulnerable

Turkish family of 5 drowns trying to flee to Greece

A Turkish family of five attempting to flee persecution in Turkey has drowned in the Aegean Sea near the Greek island of Lesvos, according to the Aktif Haber news portal.

Sources told Aktif Haber that bodies recently found by Greek authorities on Lesvos belong to Hüseyin Maden, who was affiliated with faith-based Gülen movement, and his family members.

The sources told Aktif Haber that relatives of the Maden family in Turkey’s Samsun province had not heard from them for several days, leading to speculation that the bodies found by Greek authorities might belong to the five members of the Maden family.

According to information gathered by Aktif Haber, detention warrants were outstanding for Hüseyin Maden (40), his wife Nur Maden (36). Both were teachers who were sacked from their jobs following a failed coup last year over alleged links to the Gülen movement, which the Turkish government accuses of being behind the coup attempt. The couple and their children Nadire Maden (13), Bahar Maden (10) and Feridun Maden (7) drowned as they fled from the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regime’s persecution targeting members of the Gülen movement.

Greek authorities delivered identity cards found on the bodies to Turkish police to see whether they belonged to members of the Maden family.

It was reported on Nov. 11 in the Greek media that authorities had discovered three dead children within the space of a few days on the northeast coast of Lesvos, baffling local port authorities, who launched an investigation.

According to the reports, the body of a boy in an advanced stage of decomposition and undetermined age was found on Nov. 11 near Mantamado. It followed the discovery of two other bodies, of a boy aged between 12 and 13 on Friday and a similarly aged girl on Thursday. Both were also found near Mantamado. Investigators estimate that all three were refugees, but no bodies or organizations that work with refugees have reported anyone missing.

According to the Lesvos News, the Greek police speculated that the three children were refugees, part of a larger group that died as they tried to approach the island on a boat. They are investigating the case by interviewing refugees who recently arrived on Lesvos. A post-mortem examination is expected to shed light on the case.

Many people have tried to flee Turkey illegally as the Turkish government canceled their passports.

Turkey survived a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President 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.

Source: https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/11/21/turkish-family-of-5-drown-trying-to-flee-to-greece/

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Deterioration of the Internet Freedom

 

Freedom of the Net 2017 Report Prepared by the Freedom House: Summary of the Parts Concerning Turkey

In November 2017, the Freedom House published a report titled Freedom of the Net 2017 which assesses the internet freedom around the world making country-based evaluations.

According to the Report, Turkey falls into the category of “Not Free” in 2017. Together with Egypt and Ukraine, Turkey is in the top three countries who declined most compared to the last year. Turkey and Russia are both ranked as 15th among 65 countries falling behind countries such as Myanmar, Sudan and Venezuela. The Report refers to different applications in Turkey many times showing that the State has been taking considerably restrictive measures.

Especially in 2017 thousands of people were arrested and/or taken into custody for downloading a mobile communication app called ByLock reasoning that coup plotters allegedly used the same app as well. The Report highlights that the app was easily accessible as well as publicly available in different app stores.

According to the Freedom House, the Turkish government has not only been using the internet to accuse government critics of serious crimes, but also to manipulate public discussions and control particular agendas. As per the allegations, around 6,000 people were employed to achieve these aims. To illustrate, many dissident journalists and academics have been dealing with online harassment by pro-government troll accounts through social media websites. Disinformation methods used by the State vary including paying government commentators (without explicit sponsorship), maintaining pro-government media and propaganda, hijacking politically dissent websites (such as social media accounts and news sites), and lastly creating fake news around elections intentionally to affect voters.

Besides these direct methods, the Turkish government uses indirect restrictions as well to control the use of the internet. To exemplify, WhatsApp as the most common mobile communication app was throttled many times especially right after significant political events and became almost inaccessible. Moreover, Turkey has taken measures to limit and control VPNs channels which enable internet users to reach banned websites and content. For example, Tor which is one of the most secure VPNs has been targeted by repressive governments. The Report emphasizes that Turkey has also applied new blocking orders to limit the use of Tor network making it harder for users to reach.

The Report specifies topics and content censored by the Turkish government; some of which can be listed as criticisms of authorities, corruption, conflict, political opposition, satire as well as mobilization for public causes. Out of 9 types of key internet controls categorized by the Freedom House, Turkey has been applying 7 of them including blocking of online communication tools, network shutdowns, increasing censorship through new laws, arrest and imprisonment of opposing internet users.

To sum up, the Freedom of the Net 2017 report illustrates how Turkey has been using the internet to serve the government’s own interests and also to limit individual freedoms such as freedom of expression and right to privacy.

Download pdf version:Freedom of the Net 2017

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My husband has cancer, and he is slowly dying in solitary confinement,’ says wife of former Ankara chief prosecutor

“My husband has cancer and needs special treatment. It is unlikely that he can get that under his current poor prison conditions. Please hear my voice. Anyone who has a conscience! Please help me and my husband. Please help us before it’s too late!” reads a letter sent to Turkey Purge by the wife of a former Ankara chief prosecutor.She is now among hundreds of thousands of people who find themselves facing tremendous difficulties after the government started a desperate crackdown on the Gülen movement in the aftermath of a July 15 coup attempt.

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Journalist’s wife under custody as a hostage

Cruelty in Turkey is continuing every day incrementally. After the failed coup attempt, witch-hunt-like detentions and arrests are drawing reactions from all over the world.

The first strike in the witch-hunt was to media outlets and journalists. So far 150 media outlets and websites were either closed or denied access. 48 journalists were taken into custody or arrested. Tens of journalists are being looked for to be arrested.

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80-year-old philanthropist put behind bars in gov’t-backed witch-hunt operation

An 80-year-old man who is known to have contributed to charity works pioneered by members of the Gülen movement was arrested on Saturday as part of the Turkish government’s witch-hunt operation targeting members of the movement.

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OSCE calls on Turkey not to prosecute journalists for their reporting

On the eve of the trial in Turkey of Cumhuriyet daily journalists Can Dündar and Erdem Gül, a representative from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on Thursday called on the Turkish authorities not to prosecute them for their reporting on issues of public interest.

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Child with fever denied treatment as father under arrest over Gülen links

A three-year-old child with high fever has been denied treatment at a hospital since his father was arrested over alleged links to the Gülen movement, leading to a suspension of the child’s eligibility to access the nationwide social security system.

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Pregnant woman: “They detained us early in the morning and left our 6-year-old son asleep in his bed”

A pregnant woman who was detained along with her husband in İzmir’s Buca district has sent the following story to Turkey Purge:

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