The Crackdown on Gulen Supporters Has Gone Astray

On August 17, the Prime Minister of Turkey announced a "special decree" granting freedom to 33,000 prisoners, excluding those convicted of murder, rape, sexual assault, and economic crimes. The overcrowded prisons and slow judicial processes in Turkey have always compelled the ruling governments to pardon a number of prisoners each year to make room for new inmates. However, the unprecedented crackdown on supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a cleric accused of orchestrating the July 15 coup, seems to be one of the main reasons for the recent mass pardons. Thousands who have been arrested in recent weeks for allegedly supporting or verbally endorsing Gulen are now in temporary detention centers across Turkey awaiting trial. The government is compelled to find space in prisons for these individuals. A question frequently raised in Turkish media these days is: "Are we freeing thieves and criminals to make room for coup plotters?" There is no doubt that this is the reason for the widespread pardons. A summary of what has been published in the last 24 hours regarding the coup attempt indicates that arrests and suspensions of individuals suspected of supporting this action continue. The statistics I provide also include attacks attributed to armed Kurdish groups: - 24 journalists from the Ozgur Gundem newspaper have been arrested and handed over to the prosecutor's office. - In an armed attack in a village near the city of Bitlis in southeastern Turkey, four security personnel were killed. - There is no information available about the detention location of a teacher named Demirtas. - A bombing at a police station in the city of Van in eastern Turkey resulted in three deaths and 73 injuries. - Anti-Gulen operations against the son-in-law of the Mayor of Istanbul. - The committee responsible for national radio and television banned coverage of the bombing news at the police station in Elazig in eastern Turkey. - A colonel arrested in connection with the Gulen case attempted to defend himself. - The governor of Elazig in eastern Turkey stated that three police officers were killed and 146 people were injured due to the bombing, with 14 of them suffering serious injuries. - According to the "special decree," 2360 police personnel and 112 military personnel were dismissed. - Plans are underway to arrest 86 judges and prosecutors. All of this news pertains to just one day. It is worth noting that under the current state of emergency in Turkey, the "special decrees" of the President or Prime Minister have the force of law. I believe that the list of news that can be compiled from the media is incomplete. Is it really possible to track and compile news regarding all the arrests and dismissals that have occurred since the coup attempt? Such a thing is impossible. No one except security agencies knows the complete number and details of the arrests. Journalists are trying to follow these statistics. According to some estimates, since the coup attempt, about 77,000 civil servants have been suspended, 5,000 dismissed, approximately 19,000 arrested, and over 11,000 imprisoned. This source estimates that the number of suspended employees will soon rise to 100,000. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that supporters of Fethullah Gulen, whom he calls a "virus," are "everywhere." He has urged everyone to report these individuals to the prosecutor's office and security agencies, "even if they are your friends." Based on the "special decree" issued on August 17, 2360 police officers and 112 other personnel from the Turkish armed forces were dismissed. It can undoubtedly be said that it is impossible for all 77,000 who have been arrested or suspended to be armed or active supporters of the coup. Reports indicate that even anyone who praised Fethullah Gulen in the past is now being suspended or arrested. In some cases, it has been reported that even friends of individuals who are supporters of Fethullah Gulen have been arrested. There are even claims that some people are falsely reporting others to security agencies as Gulen supporters to seize their jobs and businesses. Resolving all these claims and accusations in fair and public courts may take years; and this is assuming that the Turkish government genuinely follows a fair and transparent judicial process for these individuals. Until these cases are resolved, the accused have lost their jobs and economic security. If we consider their family members as well, the number rises to about half a million or even more.