The mother of a 9-month-old infant detained in İzmir over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement has been jailed following a court order for her arrest, despite raising concerns during her testimony about her child’s medical condition, the TR724 news website reported.
Rümeysa Şanal, 31, was questioned by the police over a 2024 trip to Bosnia and Herzegovina, money sent to her as a gift after her child was born and whether she knew certain students shown to her in photographs. She was also asked why she had met with students.
In her court testimony, Şanal said her baby had cysts in the lungs and would require a CT scan after turning 1 year old, with possible surgery thereafter. She also said the child was in need of care and still in the breastfeeding stage.
After three days in custody, during which her baby was deprived of maternal care and breastfeeding, a court ordered the arrest of 34 detainees on Friday, including Şanal. She was subsequently sent to İzmir Şakran Women’s Closed Prison, reportedly with her 9-month-old infant.
Şanal had been detained on June 9, along with 77 people, including 40 students, during raids across 11 provinces in an investigation led by the İzmir Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Şanal’s father, Ali Ertaş, is currently serving a prison sentence in a separate case linked to Gülen movement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has targeted followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, since corruption investigations in December 2013 implicated him as well as some members of his family and inner circle. He dismissed the probes as a Gülenist conspiracy and later designated the movement as a terrorist organization in May 2016, intensifying a sweeping crackdown after a coup attempt in July of the same year that he accused Gülen of orchestrating. The movement denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Under Turkish law, women who are pregnant or who have given birth within the past 18 months cannot be made to serve prison sentences. Article 16(4) of the Law on the Execution of Sentences stipulates that incarceration must be postponed for the duration of pregnancy and until the child is 18 months old.
However, these protections apply only after a sentence has become final. In practice, courts have ordered the pretrial detention of pregnant women while their cases are still under appeal, arguing that the postponement rule does not extend to pretrial custody.
Critics say this interpretation undermines both the spirit of the law and international standards such as the United Nations’ “Bangkok Rules,” which call for non-custodial measures for pregnant women and mothers with young children.
According to the latest figures from the justice ministry, more than 126,000 people have been convicted for alleged links to the movement since 2016, with 11,085 still in prison. Legal proceedings are ongoing for over 24,000 individuals, while another 58,000 remain under active investigation nearly a decade later.
In addition to the thousands who were jailed, scores of other Gülen movement followers had to flee Turkey to avoid the government crackdown.