The bans and restrictions the Turkish government has imposed over the past four months under the state of emergency have resulted in tens of thousands of people shut out of social and economic life in what virtually amounts to “civil death.” Journalists and lawyers who lost their jobs after the July 15 coup attempt are now subject to legal and de facto work bans, which have produced a long list of victims.

Those affected by the emergency rule measures can be divided into two major categories: people who face judicial investigations and people not being judicially prosecuted but nonetheless directly or indirectly victimized by the measures. The latter category includes people dismissed from private enterprises closed for their alleged affiliation with Fethullah Gulen — the supposed mastermind behind the attempted putsch — and those who lost jobs in the public sector on the same grounds or for being active in oppositional trade unions.

Some 11,000 teachers and 50,000 other public servants were dismissed after the coup attempt, and most of them are now grappling with unemployment. A former village teacher, for instance, described his plight to a media outlet. He said, “I’ve been married for five years. I’m ready to work, even as a porter, but no one would give me a job, as the Syrians are working for very low wages. We feel desperate and don’t know what to do.”

Academics expelled from universities find themselves in a similar situation. One of them, sociologist Kemal Inal, told Al-Monitor, “All the entitlements I had acquired from work of more than 27 years vaporized with a single decision by the government. I’ve sent CVs to dozens of places since I was expelled on Sept. 1, but I’ve heard back from no one. Perhaps they are scared.”