Sick and bedridden wife of jailed 86-year-old Turkish philanthropist Afsar died

Feride Afsar, the sick and bedridden wife of 86-year-old Turkish philanthropist Celal Afsar, who has been jailed since July 2018 over his alleged links to the Gulen movement, passed away.

Celal Afsar was arrested along with his daughter, son-in-law and two others in Nigde province as part of the Turkish government’s massive post-coup witch hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.

Afsar is known as a philanthropist in his hometown, with public broadcaster TRT in 2011 depicting his life as an example of dedication to charity. However, Afsar was accused of providing financial support to a “terrorist organization.”

Celal Afsar had stated during his defense in his first hearing held at the Nigde 2nd High Criminal Court that “I did not try to hide from the law. I had to take care of my sick and bedridden wife.”

Celal Afsar had requested his release from prison after giving his defense to take care of his wife. However, the court rejected his request and ruled for the continuation of the famous philanthropist’s imprisonment.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Turkey have been the subject of legal proceedings in the last two years on charges of membership in the Hizmet movement since a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, a Turkish Justice Ministry official told a symposium on July 19, 2018.

“Legal proceedings have been carried out against 445,000 members of this organization,” Turkey’s pro-government Islamist news agency İLKHA quoted Turkish Justice Ministry Deputy Undersecretary Omer Faruk Aydiner as saying.

Turkey survived a controversial military coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that killed 249 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pinned the blame on the Gulen movement.

Fethullah Gulen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdogan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting them in custody.

Turkey has suspended or dismissed about 170,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15, 2016. On December 13, 2017, the Justice Ministry announced that 169,013 people had been the subject of legal proceedings on coup charges since the failed coup.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced on April 18, 2018, that the Turkish government had jailed 77,081 people between July 15, 2016, and April 11, 2018, over alleged links to the Hizmet Movement.

Source:

https://stockholmcf.org/sick-and-bedridden-wife-of-jailed-86-year-old-turkish-philanthropist-afsar-dies/