On the outskirts of Istanbul, cut into the rough earth of a newly-constructed cemetery is a single, unmarked grave. The Cemetery of Traitors has been prepared specially for Turkish soldiers who died in the failed coup of 15th July, and the grave belongs to a major who shot an unarmed civilian before being killed himself. His family refused to accept his body, so it was brought here, where, according to Istanbul’s mayor, Kadir Topba¸s, “those who pass by will recite curses.”
Turkey’s religious body, the Diyanet, has refused to grant soldiers who took part in the coup attempt the state funeral services usually given to Turkish citizens. “These [soldiers], with the action they undertook, have disregarded not just individuals but also the law of an entire nation and therefore do not deserve exoneration from the faithful.”