Turkish judiciary sues psychologist for therapy services to dismissed coup accused

Turkish authorities have sued a female psychologist due to her therapy services to people who were sacked from their jobs in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Emine Ozdemir, an expert psychologist and family therapist, will face a court action since she provided psychological therapies to individuals who were fired through decree laws issued by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The psychologist announced the detail of the case on her Twitter account on Sunday.

Ozdemir said she had been questioned by police last year due to an unnamed e-mail notice against her.

On Saturday, she was informed that a court case has been opened against her with accusations of delivering psychological services to dismissed public officials, opening an account at Bank Asya and consequently being a member of a terrorist organization.

“[In the indictment] there is no name of an individual who noticed me. Is it that easy to make an accusation and to slander by just sending an e-mail? When will the justice come back to this country?” Ozdemir said in her tweet.

Last week, Ozdemir started working as a columnist in daily Yeni Asya, one of a few dailies critical to Erdogan.

Mass crackdown on dissidents continues

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP have initiated a new term in Turkey, cracking down on dissidents with strict measures after the failed 2016 coup attempt.

The Erdogan regime pinned the blame on followers of the Gulen Movement, led by US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Erdogan has accused Gulen of masterminding the coup. The reclusive 75-year-old Gulen denies the charge.

Less than a week after the coup Erdogan declared a state of emergency entrusting himself with sweeping, vast powers granted by the emergency laws.

During a two-year emergency rule, the authorities enacted dozens of decrees which had the full force of the law.

However, the government’s invoking of emergency powers sparked a legal and political controversy inviting sharp criticism over the way how it used those powers.

More than 150000 public servants have been dismissed without court rulings. The government also shut down more than 1150 schools, 160 media outlets and confiscated hundreds of businesses, small and large.

As the emergency regime came to an end last summer the government’s constitutional amendment allowed it to make some provisions under the emergency rule permanent features of the law.

The Turkish government has not let up its pressure on dissidents after the end of the two-year state of emergency.

A new anti-terrorism law, following the emergency rule, has led many to believe that “securitized state” has become permanent.

Critics accuse Erdogan of using the foiled coup as an opportunity to quash opposition in Turkey while he claims the measures are necessary for combating threats to national security.

Human Rights Watch reports that more than 50000 people have been imprisoned pending trial since July 2016.

According to Ministry of Justice statistics revealed in January this year, 77355 of people are under judicial control. Turkey’s western allies have raised concerns over mass crackdown and detentions in the country since the putsch.

Since July 2016, having an account at Bank Asya, a Gulen Movement-affiliated private bank is regarded by prosecutors as evidence of membership of a “terrorist organization.”

YSK rules people dismissed by emergency decrees cannot serve as mayors

The post Turkish judiciary sues psychologist for therapy services to dismissed coup accused appeared first on IPA NEWS.

from IPA NEWS https://ipa.news/2019/05/06/turkish-judiciary-sues-psychologist-for-therapy-services-to-dismissed-coup-accused/