Ten years after Turkey's coup attempt: 'I died the death of a citizen'

Nearly a decade after Turkey's failed 2016 coup attempt, Bülent Yıldız, a former high school teacher, recounts the devastating impact of being dismissed from public service by presidential decree. He lost his job, his family, and his social standing, now selling lighters and relying on food stamps.

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Now I sometimes ask myself: 'When was the last time I sang? When was the last time I was with friends?' None of them call me or ask about me anymore.

Yıldız is one of more than 125,000 individuals purged from public service following the coup attempt. These dismissals, often based on alleged links to Fethullah Gülen's movement, resulted in the cancellation of social benefits, invalidation of passports, and a ban from other public sector jobs. Many victims, like Yıldız, are ostracized by former colleagues and friends, living as social outcasts referred to as having "died the death of a citizen."

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As if the pillow was suddenly pulled out from under your head while you were sleeping.

The purges were swift, with lists of suspected critics reportedly ready beforehand. This has fueled speculation, as reported in the Turkish press at the time, that the government may have been aware of the coup attempt. The lack of transparency, including the non-publication of a parliamentary inquiry report and the refusal of key military figures to testify, suggests that information may be deliberately concealed. The purges enabled President Erdoğan to consolidate power by removing opponents.

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I died the death of a citizen.