Translated and edited from Sosyal Savas with additional edits from the Black Rose/Rosa Negra Social Media Team.
Anarchist activist İshak Tayak has been arrested and accused of being a member of the Islamic, pro-capitalist Gülen movement linked to the 2016 failed coup attempt. In the pre-dawn hours of October 2, special ops police raided his Istanbul home, where they beat him before taking him into custody. İshak, a Kurdish self-identified anarchist and atheist, was later charged with downloading a messaging app used by the movement called Bylock in 2014.
Charges denied, lack of evidence
Ishak denies the charges, as well as any ties with the Gülenists, and allegedly, the state has yet to present substantial evidence supporting its claims.
“I am an anarchist, an atheist, a person who defends the rights of nature, people, and animals,” Ishak said in a statement. Under the state of emergency, he says the rule of law has been suspended and any semblance of justice discarded: “I’m being tried as a Gülenist—despite the fact that I’m an anarchist and have no connections [to this or any organization].”
Istanbul Anti-Fraud Division branch members detained 15 people in the operation for ByLock users, including Ishak Tayak, who was in the group called “Anarchists”.The evening newspaper, the government said, alleged that Tayak had downloaded ByLock over his own line.
The Turkish state accuses the Gülenists, led by the US-based Muslim cleric Fetullah Gülen, of orchestrating a July 15, 2016 coup attempt and considers it a terrorist organization. In the months after the coup, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has aggressively attempted to link dissidents—left and right—to the Gülenists, an effort to both consolidate its power and justify heavy repression of the opposition. Over 50,000 people have been jailed in post-coup purges. Continue reading “Turkey holds anarchist İshak Tayak on false charges”
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