The detention of four out of six men who were allegedly abducted by the Turkish intelligence agency in February and were found and taken into custody on July 29 has been extended for a second time for another four days, according to the men’s family members.
The men disappeared after they were purged from their state jobs due to their alleged links to the Gülen movement.
The families of the abductees, Yasin Ugan, Özgür Kaya, Ertan Irmak and Salim Zeybek, were informed on July 29 by the police that the men were under detention at the police department’s counterterrorism unit in Ankara. They have been unable to see their lawyers for five days.
The families were informed on Thursday night that the men’s detention had been extended for a second time, according to messages from the families’ social media accounts.
Family members of the abductees were allowed to see them for a short period of time this week in the presence of police. They said the men had lost excessive amounts of weight, were anxious and looked frightened.
Gökhan Türkmen and Mustafa Yılmaz, who were also abducted in February, are still missing.
More than 20 people have reportedly been abducted by Turkey’s intelligence agency in a massive post-coup crackdown targeting Gülen movement followers in the aftermath of a coup attempt on July 15, 2016.
Turkey accuses the movement of orchestrating the failed coup, although it strongly denies any involvement.