A Turkish court on Friday ruled for continuation of the imprisonment of 81-year-old Mustafa Türk, who suffers from debilitating health problems.
Türk was taken into custody by Turkish police on Sept. 1, 2016 over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement. He was detained at his home in the Turgutlu district of Manisa province, handcuffed and driven to a police station for interrogation.
“The judges have ruled for continuation of the imprisonment of my father Mustafa Türk, who was taken to court in a wheelchair and has been a diabetic for 30 years and suffers from tension and incontinence, on the basis of ‘strong evidence of a crime and strong suspicion of flight risk’,” his son tweeted.
According to information provided by family members, Mustafa Türk is confined with 28 others in a prison cell with a capacity for 14.
Amid an ongoing witch-hunt targeting the faith-based Gülen movement, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu on Nov. 15 said 48,739 people had been jailed and eight holdings and 1,020 companies seized as part of operations into the movement.
Speaking at a meeting of the Budget Commission in Parliament on Wednesday, Soylu also said 215,092 people had been listed as using a smart phone application known as ByLock and that 23,171 people have been detained over use of the application so far.
Turkish authorities believe that ByLock is a communication tool among followers of the Gülen movement.
Turkish Justice Ministry announced on July 13 that 50,510 people have been arrested and 169,013 have been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup on July 15, 2016.
Turkey has suspended or dismissed more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15 of last year through government decrees issued as part of a state of emergency.
