Turkey's war on the truth: How conspiracy theories and false accusations are upending lives
In 2016, days after the failed coup attempt in Turkey, Professor Henri Barkey was falsely targeted by the Turkish government, which formally charged and prosecuted him for allegedly inciting the failed 2016 coup. He is part of a large and expanding group of alleged co-conspirators including Osman Kavala, one of Turkey’s most prominent civil-society organizers, has now spent years in jail for crimes he did not commit. The government is seeking life sentences plus 20 years for Henri Barkey and Osman Kavala. More than five years after the coup, people in the Turkish media—print, television, and social—still propagate these fabrications. Professor Henri Barkey joins The Greek Current to talk about Turkey’s false accusations against him that have upended his personal and professional life.
Henri Barkey is the Cohen Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University and an adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Read Henri Barkey’s op-ed in The Atlantic on this experience that has upended his life: Erdoğan’s War on Truth
You can read the articles we discuss on our podcast here:
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