AST News

NDS Releases Four Teachers of Afghan-Turk School “Afghanistan’s intelligence agency has released four teachers of Afghan-Turk School including three Turkish and one Afghan national in Kabul, officials confirmed on Sunday. The Attorney General’s Office, however, did not elaborate on the reasons behind the detention of the teachers, but stressed that the released individuals will be under “serious” supervision of the security forces.” https://ariananews.af/nds-releases-four-teachers-of-afghan-turk-school/ NEWS ARTICLES ON THIS SUBJECT: http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/fate-two-turkish-nationals-unknown Fate of Two Turkish Nationals Unknown The fate of two teachers – both Turkish nationals – of the Afghan-Turk school in Kabul who were detained by the National Directorate of Security (NDS) last week, remains unknown.Sources say the government has confiscated the passports of family members of the two teachers. Meanwhile, the Attorney General Office (AGO) said three teachers of Afghan-Turk schools, two Turks and one Afghan national, were freed on Sunday. Earlier the Turkish government had urged Afghanistan to hand…

“I CANNOT SAY WE ARE ABSOLUTELY SAFE EVEN ABROAD” Report on the Current and Possible Threats Supporters of the Gulen Movement Face Abroad Summary Since the attempted coup of July 15, 2016 the Government of Turkey Turkish government has engaged in illegal extraterritorial and extrajudicial actions been taking strict measures to silence dissidents in other countries from various ideologies recently. Gulen Movement (also known as “Hizmet Movement,” meaning service in Turkish) has been the main target of the government, which is a faith-based group of people engaging in different voluntary activities such as education, business and health. Alleged supporters of the Movement in Turkey have been dealing with arrest, imprisonment, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, confiscation and passport seizure. Regrettably Turkish government’s actions against the Gulen Movement are not limited to Turkish borders but are also extraterritorial. There are many examples of abductions and physical violence incidents in several countries…

The National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghan intelligence agency, abducted four teachers including one Afghan and three Turkish nationals from one of the schools run by the Afghan Turk CAG Educational NGO (ATCE) on 12 December 2017. Families and friends of the teachers have indicated they are very much worried that there has not been any sign regarding their whereabouts. The ATCE was founded by Gulen inspired Turkish businessmen and teachers and has been running several schools in different cities of Afghanistan since 1995. Despite all the difficulties in the region, the ATCE has continued to maintain its services believing that education is the only way to overcome those difficulties. Former Deputy Minister of Education, Sediq Patman classified the situation as “politically motivated and unethical.” Former NDS chief has also defined the move as unprecedented in recent years, also as a shameful act for the government. According to former government…

As Advocates of Silenced Turkey, we are pleased to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Human Rights Day. Yet, unfortunately, the values emphasized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are today undermined in many countries. It is the duty of each informed citizen to advocate for peace and sustain justice. Human Rights Day is therefore not only about few people, but it is about all of us. Turkey is one of the countries that have experienced significant deterioration in regards to values mentioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After the failed coup, more than 130,000 people have been arbitrary detained and more than 60,000 people have been arrested. Many of those arrested do not have any evidence against them. Nonetheless, there are 17,000 women in jail and 688 babies under age of six. Furthermore, there has been more than 2,200 torture and numerous abduction cases. All independent media…