A report released by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on the impact of a state of emergency declared in the aftermath of a coup attempt on July 15 details the massive tally of human rights violations in Turkey.
Journalist Hülya Karabağlı announced the report, prepared by CHP deputy Zeynep Altıok, on the T24 new website on Thursday.
Turkey witnessed a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 and few hours into the attempt, the government blamed the Gülen movement. Since then the government has been conducting a massive purge against critics that intensified after the coup on allegations of coup involvement due to links to the Gülen movement.
According to the report, 103,850 people have been the subject of investigations since July 15. A total of 41,326 are in pre-trial detention, 71,274 people have been held in custody and 35,495 were released on probation.
As part of the state of emergency, at least 140,000 passports were cancelled.
The CHP report also pointed out that at least 25 victims of a post-coup purge committed suicide.
There has been a surge in torture allegations in post-coup Turkey, particularly at Silivri Prison, as the CHP report indicates. Under the state of emergency, the period of detention has been extended to 30 days, and access to a lawyer has been prevented for the first five days.
The CHP report also underlined the poor physical conditions in prisons as well as restrictions on communication with family members.
In addition to detentions, arrests and torture, a huge number of people have been dismissed from their jobs. At least 6,822 academic personnel were purged from their jobs at universities, the CHP report stated.
The report also detailed the tremendous crackdown on the media. During the state of emergency, 216 journalists were detained, 2,308 journalists lost their job, and 28 TV stations, five news agencies, 66 newspapers, 19 magazines, 36 radio stations and 26 publishing houses were shut down.
In a raid on the house of a teacher, a book by journalist Fehim Taştekin on the Rojova Kurds was considered evidence of a crime.
Turkey’s arts landscape was also impacted by the state of emergency due to purges of critical artists, actors and musicians. Violin player Filiz Özsoy and pianist Eser Öykü Dede were among those dismissed by a decree issued on Feb. 7.
The judiciary was not immune from the purge. A total of 4,176 judges and prosecutors have been dismissed including from Turkey’s highest courts.
A total of 2,286 judges and prosecutors, 104 members of the Supreme Court of Appeals, 41 members of the Council of State, two judges from the Constitutional Court and three members of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) were arrested as part of the post-coup purge.
The CHP report also pointed out that a total of 24,568 people from the national police force were dismissed.
Moreover, 17 governors, 74 deputy governors and 100 local governors were put behind bars on coup charges.
The main opposition report gave the number of purged soldiers as 7,356. A total of 6,035 officers, 168 of whom are generals, have been arrested during the state of emergency.
