Saliha Sayın and Rıza SAYIN, two Turkish citizens and the parents of a 4-year-old, have been held in pre-trial detention for over six months over alleged links to Turkey’s Gülen group, which is accused by the Turkish government of masterminding a coup attempt in July 2016.
Their daughter, Elif, are looked after by her grandmother, according to an anonymous Twitter account.
Saliha and Rıza are reportedly locked up in the Sungulu State prison for having “membership in an armed terrorist organization” and “attempting to destroy the unity of the state and nation.” The are scheduled to stand trial on August 19, 2021.
Turkey survived a military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Following the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government along with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen group, initiating a widespread purge aimed at cleansing members of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.
There are more than 17,000 women and over 500 kids in Turkish prisons.
In several cases, women were detained in the hospital immediately after the delivery of her baby and before they had a chance to recover. Many women were jailed as they were visiting their imprisoned husbands, leaving the children stranded in the ensuing chaos.
Anne, Baba tutukluluk ZULÜMDÜR!
Saliha SAYIN Şakran, Rıza SAYIN Sungurlu Cezaevi'nde. Çocukları Elif 4 yaşında, Adana'da anneannede kalıyor. Elif 4.5 aydır anne ve babasını göremiyor.
Saliha Hanım'ın 19 Ağustos'ta mahkemesi var.
@adalet_bakanlik pic.twitter.com/3vwGOvrKHX— K H K L I (@khk_TR) August 17, 2021