Around the 10th of November bodies of three children were washed ashore in Lesvos. A horrible scene that left the Greek authorities clueless as there were no records of a recent shipwreck. Now it seems that these lifeless bodies belong to a Turkish family of five, who fled the country as they were facing persecution as alleged members of the Gülen movement.
Via Stockholm Center for Freedom – “A Turkish family of five allegedly drowned in Aegean Sea as they were trying to flee from the persecution of the despotic regime of Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Greek island Lesvos.
Sources told to the Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) that the bodies recently found by Greek authorities on Lesvos island may belong to Turkish man Hüseyin Maden, who was affiliated with the Gülen movement, and his family members.
The sources told SCF that the relatives of Maden Family in Turkey’s Samsun province have not heard from them for several days. So, it was speculated that the bodies found by Greek authorities may belong to the 5 members of Maden Family.
Therefore, it has been speculated that Hüseyin Maden, his wife Nur Maden and the couple’s children Nadire Maden, Bahar Maden and Feridun Maden drowned as they flee from Erdoğan regime’s persecution targeting the alleged members of the Gülen movement. According to information gathered by SCF, Greek authorities delivered some identity cards found on the bodies on Lesvos to Turkish police to check whether they were belonged by the members of Maden Family.
It was reported on November 11, 2017 in Greek media outlets that Greek authorities discovered three dead children within the space of a few days on the northeast coast of the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos has baffled local port authorities who have launched an investigation.
According to the reports, the body of a boy in an advanced stage of decomposition was found on Nov. 11, 2017 near the region of Mantamado – his age had not been determined. It followed the discovery of two other bodies, of a boy aged between 12 and 13 on Friday and a similarly aged girl on Thursday. Both were also found near Mantamado. Investigators estimate that all three were refugees but no bodies or organizations that work with refugees have reported anyone missing.
According to Lesvos News, the Greek police speculate that the three children were refugees, part of a larger group, that died as they tried to approach the island on a boat. They are investigating the case by interviewing refugees who recently arrived on Lesvos. A post-mortem examination is expected to shed light to the case.
Many people tried to escape Turkey via illegal ways as Turkish government cancelled their passports like thousands of others.
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 Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.
Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — 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 more than 150,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants since July 15, 2016. Turkey’s 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.”
The article was published by the Stockholm Center for Freedom