Nasa scientist researching mission to Mars still in prison a year on from failed Turkey coup

It would be the beginning of a Kafkaesque nightmare for Mr Golge and his family. He has spent the last 10 months in solitary confinement and has lost more than two stone in weight from the stress.

Mrs Golge, 32, said that despite his dual Turkish-US citizenship he has been denied access to the US consulate.

Behind the scenes, Washington has put considerable pressure on Ankara to release Mr Golge. That he is still in prison is a sign of the US’s waning influence over its Nato ally.

Mr Golge’s case is yet to be heard. A huge backlog is delaying the trial.

“I just want to scream and shout so loud about what is happening to him. He has such an intelligent mind that is wasting away in that cell,” says Mrs Golge, who cannot leave Turkey as she is subject to a travel ban.

The state’s ruthless crackdown on anyone deemed disloyal has created such a climate of fear that most are afraid of speaking up. Mrs Golge now does not even dare talk to friends and neighbours.

Mr Erdogan described last summer's plot as a “gift from God”. The 63-year-old strongman, who leads the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has long held ambitions for expanded presidential powers.

The July 15 putsch allowed him to present himself as the best cure to the chaos, the declining security situation and flagging economy. In April he put a set of constitutional reforms to a vote, which he won by the thinnest of margins.

Turkey has spent more than 80 years making strides towards democracy after years of military rule. Now, critics and rights activists say, the country is lurching in the opposite direction to rising concerns in the international community.

The European Union, which is considering Turkey for membership, has decried what it sees as a descent into authoritarian rule.