Stuttgart police: ‘Boycotts of Gülen-friendly shops are potential hate crimes’


Date posted: August 31, 2016

Chris Cottrell

Police in Germany are investigating whether calls to boycott shops owned by supporters of the self-exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen constitute hate crimes. There are currently 15 open investigations.

Police in the southern German city of Stuttgart said Wednesday they were investigating calls to avoid patronizing Gülen-friendly stores, shops and restaurants as potential hate crimes.

A spokesman told DW that all of the 15 open investigations were against unknown perpetrators, as most of the calls to boycott alleged Gülenists were made anonymously over social media or mobile chat apps.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vociferously accused Gülen, who lives in the United States, of orchestrating the unsuccessful putsch that left more than 300 people dead on July 15.

Erdogan’s words have echoed abroad, notably in Germany, where loyalists to the president have shared lists of businesses they say should be avoided. Earlier this month, a German newspaper reported that some shops and people had even been singled out during sermons at mosques.

The anti-Gülenist sentiment has at times escalated into physical violence. A youth center in the western city of Gelsenkirchen was vandalized and at least one person was accosted by a mob outside.

The police spokesman in Stuttgart, Jens Lauer, said investigators were reviewing who initiated the boycott lists as well as who forwarded them to other people. It is unclear whether disseminating the lists, in addition to starting them, would also be considered a hate crime.

 

Source: Deutsche Welle , August 31, 2016


Related News

Pulitzer Prize equals five years in prison in Turkey

The statement in the headline belongs to Bülent Arınç, deputy prime minister and spokesperson for the Turkish government. Moreover, he is responsible for the government’s media policy. For Western readers, I should clarify that he was not joking when he said, “A journalist might win the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting, but he should face the consequence of five years in prison.”

Fethullah Gulen ‘very confident’ Turkey extradition from US will fail

Alp Aslandogan, president of the New York-based Alliance for Shared Values (AFSV), said Gulen believes the Turkish authorities will not be able to produce concrete evidence to link him to the attempted coup in Turkey last month because that link [to the coup] is false… “So if something is not true, how can they prove it?’ Aslandogan told Middle East Eye in a telephone interview.

Victims of Turkey’s purge exploited also by lawyers with exorbitantly high fees

Victims of Turkey’s post-coup purge have been taking another toll from lawyers who ask outrageously high prices either to keep themselves out of trouble or to exploit from the lost causes. In Turkey, the presumption of innocence has been dramatically reversed and now everybody is assumed guilty until they prove their innocence.

“They won’t believe,” he said

AHMET KURUCAN “They won’t believe,” he said. “They won’t believe that we work for peace and the salvation of humanity. They won’t believe that we endeavor to create an island of peace where all of humanity can live in brotherhood. They won’t believe that you do not have expectations for this world or the next. […]

Intellectuals from West, East agree Gülen movement works for a better world

At a time when the faith-based Gülen movement is under heavy government pressure in Turkey, intellectuals from various countries have praised the movement for its efforts to make the world a better place for everyone by promoting education, peace, benevolence through dedication.

Turkish Scholar Fethullah Gulen Speaks about PKK [terrorist organization]

Fethullah Gulen, Turkish scholar: “We were never completely aligned with any political party. But on the Kurdish issue, we were supporting the peace process before the government.” The Hizmet or service movement, through civil service initiatives, has been active in the region. It has focused on education, healthcare and religious affairs.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Jews, Muslims Bond Over Shared Values

Kurdish theologian: Gülen’s ideas best antidote to ISIL

Fethullah Gülen: ‘I Call For An International Investigation Into The Failed Putsch In Turkey’

Turkic American Alliance Condemns Government Takeover of Zaman

Islamic scholar Gülen responds to Turkish PM’s ‘lair’ remark in heated row over graft probe

US court gives Gülen 21 days to present his defense

Fethullah Gülen donates $10,000 for victims of Typhoon Haiyan disaster in Philippines

Copyright 2024 Hizmet News