Category: World

Nine civilians have been arrested while 15 military members were detained in separate police operations targeting alleged followers of the Gülen movement, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup in July 2016.

As part of an investigation based in the central province of Konya, detention warrants were issued for 29 active and former military officers on accusations of Gülen movement membership. Fifteen of the officers were detained in police operations across 18 provinces, while operations continue for the detention of the remaining 14.

In another investigation based in central Tokat province nine civilians who had previously been detained were arrested on accusations of Gülen movement membership. They are accused of re-structuring the movement.

The Turkish government considers followers of the movement “terrorists” and has been conducting a large-scale crackdown targeting them. Interior

Minister Süleyman Soylu in March 2019 reported that more than half a million people had been detained by police in the post-coup crackdown over alleged Gülen links.

Yasin Ugan, who had been missing for six months before suddenly reappearing in police custody, has revealed in court that he was tortured by security officers, according to a prominent Turkish human rights activist.

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a rights activist and a member of parliament, tweeted that Ugan had been tortured for six months after being kidnapped on February 13, 2019, with his head covered with a black plastic bag most of the time.

Ugan also said he was only allowed to take three showers during the time he was missing, Gergerlioğlu said.

Ugan, a former civil servant fired from his job by the government in the aftermath of a 2016 coup attempt, appeared in court on Tuesday over his alleged membership in the Gülen movement.

Turkey accuses the movement of orchestrating the failed coup, although it strongly denies any involvement. Since the abortive putsch, Ankara has carried out a post-coup crackdown targeting followers of the movement.

The İstanbul 34th High Criminal Court ordered an investigation into Ugan’s claims, Gergerlioğlu added.

Ugan was one of six dismissed civil servants who had gone missing in February of last year. They all were later found in police custody and put in jail due to alleged ties to the Gülen movement.

Yusuf Bilge Tunç, another former public servant who was dismissed from his job by a government decree, is still missing.

Gökhan Türkmen, who was allegedly abducted by Turkish intelligence officers and kept in a non-official detention center for 271 days, said in February that he was tortured, subjected to severe threats and sexually harassed and abused during his enforced disappearance.

The families of the once-missing men had conducted a social media campaign to find their loved ones during their nine-month absence, but the other five people, excluding Türkmen, who later reappeared in police custody, told their families to halt the campaign.

They were obviously afraid and apparently treated very badly considering their appearance, the families and lawyers from the Ankara Bar Association later told reporters.

Ugan also denounced a 58-page statement that he said he was forced to sign under duress by the security officers, and dismissed the lawyer who was assigned by the bar association.

Nearly 30 people have reportedly been abducted by Turkish intelligence agents since 2016. Two of them were able to flee the country and told foreign media about the torture they had endured during their enforced disappearance.

An American NASA scientist returned with his family to the United States early Tuesday morning after nearly four years of imprisonment and house arrest in Turkey, and more than seven months after President Donald Trump said he had secured an agreement for his release, The New York Times reported.

The scientist, Serkan Gölge, arrived in Washington on a commercial flight shortly after midnight, ending a tortuous journey for him and his family, who had become caught up in increasingly fraught Turkish-American relations.

At a White House briefing in November with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump announced that Gölge would be heading home and personally thanked his Turkish counterpart for releasing Gölge from detention, though he remained under judicial control for several more months.

Gölge’s case, along with those of an American pastor, Andrew Brunson, who was held for two years, and three Turkish employees of US consulates, one of whom was sentenced to more than eight years in prison this month, have been seen by US and European officials as a form of hostage-taking for leverage.

Gölge, 40, a naturalized US citizen, holds a Ph.D. in physics from Old Dominion University. He lived near Houston and had worked on preparations for NASA’s Mars mission.

He was detained in July 2016 while visiting his parents in southern Turkey and was accused of being a member of the Gülen movement — he insists he is not — which the government accuses of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt, although it strongly denies any involvement.

The only evidence of that association that was produced at his trial was that he had held an account at Bank Asya, which was linked to the movement, and that a $1 bill was found in his parents’ house, supposedly a secret sign of membership.

Gölge’s wife, Kübra, and his two children, all American citizens, were also barred from leaving Turkey.

Gölge was fitted with an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his movements and had to sign in at the local police station four times a week, a regimen that was later reduced to twice and then once a week. His case is still pending at Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals.

The last judicial controls were only finally lifted in April, and international flights, grounded because of the coronavirus pandemic since March, only resumed this month.

Haluk Savaş, 54, a leading human rights activist and a victim of a large-scale post-coup purge in Turkey, lost his battle against cancer on Tuesday, according to his wife.

“I’ve lost my angel-hearted husband who had been trying to help everyone,” Esen Savaş, a psychotherapist, tweeted.

Savaş was a psychiatry professor at Gaziantep University until he was fired by a government decree in 2016 following a coup attempt.

He was later arrested over alleged links to the Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating the failed coup despite its strong denial of any involvement.

In November 2016 he was released pending trial due to a cancer diagnosis, and after one year of treatment he was cured. However, the cancer returned in early 2019.

For months he struggled to obtain a passport, despite later being acquitted by a court, to travel abroad in search of a treatment for the cancer.

He was finally allowed to travel overseas last May, but the treatment produced no positive results.

Savaş was a dedicated and vocal advocate of other victims of Turkey’s purge and established a YouTube channel called KHK TV as well as several local platforms to amplify the voices of the victims.

Figures from nearly all walks of life in Turkey offered their condolences on social media.

“The government even tried to prevent him from getting treatment, but he didn’t give in and boosted our morale,” Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, a member of parliament from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), tweeted.

“A brilliant man of science died today,” Meral Danış Beştaş, HDP group deputy chairman, said in a tweet.

Deputies from other opposition parties, former politicians and human rights activists also reacted in sorrow to Savaş’s death.

A professor of communications, Muttalip Kutluk Özgüven, has said followers of the Gülen movement, accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a failed coup in 2016, should be sent to rehabilitation camps and subjected to psychological treatment.

Özgüven’s controversial remarks came during a program on the pro-government Akit TV.

The Turkish government accuses the Gülen movement of masterminding the failed coup on July 15, 2016 and labels it a “terrorist organization,” although the movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.

Following the coup attempt, the Turkish government launched a massive crackdown on followers of the movement under the pretext of an anti-coup fight, as a result of which more than 600,000 people have been investigated on allegations of terrorism.

The professor complained that the fight against the Gülen movement is not being adequately conducted.

“This fight cannot be carried out only with law enforcement measures. We need to establish rehabilitation camps. We need to take Fetö [a phrase used by the Turkish government to refer to the Gülen movement as a terrorist organization] members who have not been involved in a crime to these camps and give them psychological treatment,” said Özgüven.

He also said these people had earlier taken advantage of benefits from the Turkish state such education, so they have to serve the state.

“Their bodies do not belong to them. They have to serve Turkey’s interests. So I can’t accept these people being against the state. We have not used psychological methods on them,” he said in remarks that attracted widespread criticism on social media.

Özgüven has been accused of advising the use of Hitler-era techniques for Gülen movement followers, who have been under unprecedented government pressure for the past several years.

The professor came under fire again in May when he said during another program on Akit TV that “between the ages of 13 and 17 is the ideal time to give birth. A person at this age is a super woman.” He said girls at this age have the perfect body for childbirth.

Özgüven’s remarks led to a public outcry, with many accusing him of promoting child abuse and teenage pregnancies in a country where such incidents are already common.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Enis Berberoğlu, who was ousted from the Turkish Parliament along with two other deputies from a Kurdish party on Thursday and subsequently arrested, was released from jail on Friday under anti-coronavirus measures, while the other two deputies continue to remain behind bars, Turkish media reports said.

Berberoğlu was released from the Maltepe Prison in İstanbul. He will return to jail on July 31 to serve a remaining sentence of 18 months from a previous conviction of five years ,10 months.

Turkey’s Supreme Court of Appeals upheld the convictions of Berberoğlu, Leyla Güven and Musa Farisoğulları from the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Thursday.

In a tense parliamentary session it was announced that the three had been expelled from office, thus stripping them of their parliamentary immunity. Berberoğlu was arrested in İstanbul and the two HDP MPs were taken into police custody in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır on Thursday night.

Güven and Farisoğulları have been charged with alleged links to the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Berberoğlu with disclosing government secrets.

Following the release of Berberoğlu from jail under anti-coronavirus measures, HDP co-chairperson Pervin Buldan tweeted about the discrimination against the jailed HDP deputies and politicians.

“Of course we are pleased with the release of Enis Berberoğlu from jail, but doesn’t the coronavirus infect other politicians in jail?” Buldan tweeted.

The HDP is frequently accused by Ankara of having links to the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the US. The party denies having organic links to the PKK.

Turkey has removed dozens of democratically elected mayors from their posts on terrorism charges and jailed dozens of Kurdish politicians.

Esra Terzioğlu, the wife of a jailed TV director who has serious health problems, has asked for help from officials in a video posted on social media, requesting his immediate release from prison, according to the tr724 news website.

Director Fatih Terzioğlu, who has been incarcerated in İstanbul’s Silivri prison for 21 months, was sentenced to six years, three months for membership in the Gülen movement, which is accused of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt. The movement strongly denies any involvement.

Terzioğlu had worked for now-closed Samanyolu TV, a Gülen-affiliated television network in Turkey.

His wife said on Wednesday that Terzioğlu has lost a significant amount of weight and was unable to speak during a prison visit last week.

Terzioğlu was taken to a hospital by the prison administration, but his wife said the officials gave her incorrect information about the clinical procedures he underwent.

“They said he had an MRI for his lungs, but I could clearly see from the e-government app that it was not true. They also said he tested negative for the coronavirus, but on the app there was no mention of a coronavirus test,” she said.

The e-government application provides reports on health procedures and their results for citizens.

His wife added that the risk of cancer seemed quite high after a blood test and the discovery of a nodule on his liver.turkishminute

Qantas says it will cut 6,000 jobs and continue to stand down 15,000 employees as part of its recovery plan from the COVID pandemic.

Qantas says it will cut at least 6,000 jobs across all parts of the business and continue to stand down 15,000 employees as part of its plan to recover from the impact of the COVID pandemic.

Australia’s flag carrier also said it will ground at least 100 aircraft for up to 12 months and reduce $15 billion in costs over the next three years.

Qantas’ domestic capacity is currently running at about 15 per cent of its pre-coronavirus levels, following an easing in social and travel restrictions.

The majority of staff stood down are associated with the airline’s international services.

“We have to position ourselves for several years where revenues will be much lower. And that means becoming a smaller airline in the short term,” Mr Joyce said.

“This is something that weighs heavily on all of us. But the collapse of billions of dollars in revenue leaves us little choice if we are to save as many jobs as possible, long term.”

“Before Qantas slashes thousands of workers’ jobs … it should be lobbying the federal government for an extension to JobKeeper and financial support to allow the airline to weather the crisis,” TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said.

“It is because of government restrictions that aviation was grounded to a halt, yet the assistance and assurances have been paltry.”

“Qantas is now making hasty decisions to slash jobs which will affect thousands of families.”

She also took aim at Mr Morrison for not extending JobKeeper payments to all aviation workers.

Mr Joyce said the airline is having “good discussions” with the federal government about extending the length of JobKeeper support for its workers.

“Despite the hard choices we’re making today, we’re fundamentally optimistic about the future. Almost two-thirds of our pre-crisis earnings came from the domestic market, which is likely to recover fastest.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison extended his “deepest regrets” to those affected by the Qantas announcement on Thursday and said the aviation sector would need continued support.

“We are just working through the best way to target and deliver that support,” he told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

He said “JobKeeper or other measures” could be used to help the sector in the future.

Mr Joyce defended the decision to sack workers while JobKeeper is under review, saying employees needed clarity.

“The prime minister and treasurer have said there are some industries that are more affected than others,” Mr Joyce said.

The Qantas chief has been talking to state governments about reopening borders for domestic travel, which remains heavily curtailed amid restrictions.

He’s also hopeful the border with New Zealand can open before July next year, but understood that would depend on health advice.

“We are very keen for the borders to be open… we will continue to talk to the states.”

Qantas shares have been placed in a trading halt, with the company to raise $1.9 billion through a shares sale.

This will comprise of a $1.4 billion institutional placement and another $500 million to be raised through a share purchase plan for retail investors.

The aviation industry has been one of the hardest hit by COVID-19, with passenger demand plunging as travel restrictions were put in place.

The federal government has poured more than $1.2 billion in assistance to the sector to underwrite key air routes between capital cities and regional centres.  sbs

The Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday issued detention warrants for 63 suspects as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Video footage showing the counterterrorism police with submachine guns raiding a suspect’s house in Adana sparked outrage on social media. The police broke the door of the residence, the footage showed.

The suspects are accused of providing financial assistance to the relatives of alleged Gülen followers who were in jail.

The Turkish government considers the followers of the movement as “terrorists,” and has been conducting a large-scale crackdown targeting them.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government accuse the Gülen movement of orchestrating a 2016 coup attempt.

Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu in March 2019 reported that more than half a million people had been detained by police in the post-coup crackdown over alleged Gülen links.

Meanwhile, police detained 27 more suspects in Sivas, Van, Kayseri and Şanlıurfa provinces, according to other reports.

A Turkish court ruled on Wednesday for the release of three journalists imprisoned over a report on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer killed in war-torn Libya, news site Artı Gerçek reported.

Yeni Yaşam’s managing editor Ferhat Çelik, his editor Aydın Keser and OdaTV editor Barış Terkoğlu were released from police custody on the first day of a trial of seven journalists accused of violating state intelligence laws.

Six of the journalist have been in pretrial detention since March.

The journalists separately face up to 19 years in prison on two separate charges, violating Article 329 of the Turkish Penal Code on the “Disclosure of Information Relating to the Security and Political Interests of the State,” and Article 27 of the Law on MİT, which states that “those who obtain documents and information concerning the MİT’s duties and operations shall be sentenced.”

The Istanbul court ruled the other journalists in the case – OdaTV’s Barış Pehlivan and Hülya Kılınç and Yeniçağ newspaper’s Murat Ağırel – to remain behind bars, Artı Gerçek said.

In his statement to the Istanbul court, Çelik said 95 percent of Turkey’s media was under state control, and he was only doing his job as a journalist.

“The MİT law ties the hands of journalists. How can I know who is a member of MİT and who isn’t head of time?’’ Artı Gerçek news site quoted Çelik as saying.

The journalists were put on trial despite the MİT officer’s identity having already been made public by a member of the opposition Good Party in February.

Yeniçağ columnist Ağırel in his court statement accused Turkish authorities of leaking confidential information about his legal case, thereby creating a public misconception.

Ağırel also questioned the charges against him.

“The first person to announce that MİT was operating in Libya was President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,’’ he said.

“So does this mean that president has committed a crime according to law No. 2937 (the MİT law)? Is there a clause in the law that exempts the president?’’ the columnist said.

Deputies from Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party, journalists, heads of NGOs and members of press unions were present for Wednesday’s trial.