Coup Attempt? in Turkey

[Cail]

Turkish journalist denies sending subliminal message on eve of coup

A prominent Turkish journalist denied on Wednesday that he sent out subliminal messages to coup plotters who tried to overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan last year, saying he had been put on trial for a crime which did not exist.

Mehmet Altan, an economics professor and journalist, and his brother Ahmet were detained in September and charged with giving coded messages in a television talk show a day before the abortive July 15 military coup, according to state media.

The brothers both face potential life sentences if convicted in their trial, which opened this week.

They have denied the charges, saying it was ridiculous to interpret their comments in the program - during which Mehmet Altan talked about the long history of military involvement in Turkish politics - as incitement to overthrow the government.

[6souls]

German-Turkish Erdogan critic Dogan Akhanli arrested is Spain per request of the Turkish authorities, Charges not revealed
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-40990083

[Andalusian girls]

Saudi Arabia is widely and rightly regarded as one of the most illiberal societies in the world, a draconian state where institutionalized theological repression is the order of the day... yet we are currently in the midst of the most transitional reformation of Saudi society in modernity. suffrage was extended to women in 2015 marking the first time an XX ballot ever registered in the kingdom. the Mutawa (a kind of religious police) had their powers to both pursue and arrest suspects rescinded, crippling a much-detested state apparatus of terror. women are now allowed to view their marriage contracts + the Saudi educational system is moving away from Quranic interpretation to STEM. in addition to these already enacted reforms the crown prince has unveiled a robust program of both economic and political liberalization titled Vision 2030 promising to continue to move the country forward with more rapidity than any outside observer would have imagined.

wrong thread to place this (why do we not have a foreign politics thread? why have i not made one? why do kids love the taste of cinnamon toast crunch?) but in keeping with this post's line of thought reports are breaking King Salman just lifted the ban on women being allowed to drive and is ordering state agencies to begin the process of issuing driver's licenses to women, though the repeal will not be immediate. the ban on female drivers was widely viewed as one the most visible aspects of gendered oppression in the Kingdom.

[Seha]

As long as it's a wahhabist theocracy it's still the worst.

[Zealot]

I was just coming here looking for a place to put this. The pattern for a long time now in Saudi Arabia has been abuse human rights -> push citizens to anger -> enact token reforms and release some oil money -> repeat. This one, though, it might seem small over here but giving a woman that much autonomy is a really big deal in Saudi Arabia.

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[Cail]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/mueller...key-1510309982

Thiw...Is kind of a big deal

[Zealot]

Starting to believe that people associated with the President might actually go to jail.

[archibaldcrane]

Starting to believe that people associated with the President might actually go to jail.

It's hard to imagine a timeline where at least one of the Flynns, as well as Manafort and his partner, don't do prison time.

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[Niiro]

Starting to believe that people associated with the President might actually go to jail.

It's hard to imagine a timeline where at least one of the Flynns, as well as Manafort and his partner, don't do prison time.

[Andalusian girls]

not that hard when you remember the presidential pardon power

[arus2001]

Clearly the priest had to be a terrorist so it's all chill.

[Salodin]

Idk, they went all out trying to distance themself from Manafort. I can see a pardon for the general and his son, but manafort I think is getting sent to a very comfortable minimum security prison.

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[6souls]

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55083955

337 more servicemen and civilians have been given a life sentence in response to the fail coup.

The trial began in August 2017, and the charges included seeking to kill President Erdogan and seize key state institutions. Turkey's biggest court - in Sincan near Ankara - was packed for the verdicts.

The indictment states that 25 pilots in F-16s bombed targets in Ankara, including parliament, which was hit three times, as well as key security buildings. The bombing killed 68 people in Ankara and injured more than 200.

Twenty-five of those in the dock were generals and 10 were civilians.

More than 10 of the military officers - including F-16 fighter pilots - and four civilians got 79 "aggravated" life sentences each. The "aggravated" sentence requires harsher prison terms than for a normal life sentence.

Six were put on trial in absentia, including Mr Gulen and Adil Oksuz, a theology lecturer accused of being a key co-ordinator in the coup plot.

Among those receiving "aggravated" life terms was businessman Kemal Batmaz, accused of assisting Adil Oksuz.

Mr Erdogan carried out a sweeping purge of state institutions after the plot, sacking or suspending more than 100,000 public sector employees, including teachers and judges, who were accused of links to Mr Gulen.

There have been many trials of alleged plotters and courts have issued more than 2,500 life sentences.