Thirty-nine more teachers were referred to court on Thursday after eight days of detention in Antalya, victims of a massive witch-hunt following a failed coup on July 15 in Turkey.The teachers, members of shuttered education union Aktif-Sen, reportedly denied coup plot accusations leveled against them.
Since July 15, the Turkish government has dismissed tens of thousands of people including teachers as part of an unprecedented purge in the country.As of September, some 30,000 teachers had been removed from the civil service, while another 20,000 were suspended.
Since the beginning of the purge, a number of teachers who were dismissed from their jobs committed suicide, unable to cope with the pressure and defamation.