SCF: The Forgotten Victims – Children of Turkey's Post-Coup Purge
- NCCA
- Sep 24
- 2 min read
Updated: Nov 8
Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF), August 2025
Overview
The Stockholm Center for Freedom’s 2025 report, “The Forgotten Victims: Children of Turkey’s Post-Coup Purge,” exposes the devastating human-rights impact of Türkiye’s post-2016 crackdown on individuals accused of affiliation with the Hizmet (Gülen) Movement.
The study documents how children have borne the brunt of this repression—forcibly separated from detained parents, deprived of healthcare, and driven into exile. Many have suffered severe trauma, depression, and even suicide following the imprisonment or persecution of family members.
The report further reveals that some children have grown up inside prison walls, accompanying mothers serving sentences, while others have died during dangerous escape journeys seeking refuge abroad. SCF identifies this practice as part of a broader “family punishment” (Sippenhaft) policy—where relatives of alleged Hizmet members face collective retribution—violating international norms and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Key Findings
Family separation and imprisonment: Thousands of children have been separated from detained parents accused of Hizmet affiliation, with many left without guardians or placed in overcrowded institutions.
Deaths and suicides: Documented cases show minors dying by suicide after parents were arrested, or losing their lives while fleeing persecution across borders.
Denial of healthcare and education: Families dismissed under post-coup decrees have lost access to medical care, disability benefits, and education for their children.
Children in prison: Numerous infants and young children live in detention with their mothers, deprived of normal developmental conditions.
Exile and displacement: Families fleeing the purge endure perilous migration routes; several children have drowned in the Aegean or Evros while escaping to Europe.
Use of Sippenhaft: The government employs collective punishment against relatives of Hizmet-linked individuals—extending legal, social, and economic sanctions to spouses and children.
Silencing and stigma: Child-rights organizations and medical professionals face censorship when addressing this crisis, while families endure public shaming and exclusion.
State denial: The absence of official data, combined with refusal to acknowledge harm, has rendered these children invisible in both domestic and international policy.
Why It Matters
This report demonstrates that Türkiye’s post-2016 purge has evolved beyond political retaliation into systemic persecution that punishes entire families. The ongoing campaign against individuals associated—real or perceived—with the Hizmet Movement has created a generation of children growing up amid stigma, separation, and silence.
By documenting their stories, SCF exposes how the Turkish government’s actions violate fundamental child-protection standards and constitute collective punishment under international law. The findings emphasize that healing, justice, and recognition are essential to restore the dignity of these children and uphold the principle that no child should suffer for their parents’ beliefs or alleged affiliations.
Tags
Hizmet Movement · Türkiye · Children’s Rights · Post-Coup Purge · Stockholm Center for Freedom · Fethullah Gülen · Human Rights
Comments