Keyword: North America
Secretary Tillerson: Evidence against Gulen provided by Turkey inadequate, while voluminous
Mr Gulen denies any role in the failed coup in July, and US officials have privately said the evidence provided by Turkey has been inadequate, while voluminous. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim recently described the delay as a joke on Turkey.
American pastor jailed over Gülen links asks Trump to fight for his release
An American pastor who has been jailed on bogus terrorism charges in Turkey for more than five months has asked US President Donald Trump to help secure his release. Pastor Brunson has no known ties to terrorist groups, and the Turkish government has not produced any evidence to show that he does.
Ex-CIA Director: Mike Flynn and Turkish Officials Discussed Removal of Gulen from U.S. without Going through Legal Process
James Woolsey says he attended a September meeting where other participants, including then-Trump adviser Mike Flynn, talked of moving Fethullah Gulen back to Turkey without going through U.S. extradition process.
American reporters got an intriguing glimpse into the political mind-set in Turkey
Turkish leaders said they were astonished that they had so far been unsuccessful in persuading the United States Justice Department to even ask a federal judge to extradite Fethullah Gulen. The Turkish government said it had provided the United States with extensive proof against Mr. Gulen, who has denied involvement. But Turkish officials refused in several interviews to publicize a single piece of that evidence.
US Human Rights Report: Tens of thousands jailed in Turkey with little clarity on charges
The 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices — the Human Rights Reports — released by the US State Department on Friday said that Turkish courts had imprisoned tens of thousands of people with little clarity on charges and evidence over their alleged links with a failed coup in July 2016 that was blamed on the Gülen movement.
Michael Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, was paid to investigate Fethullah Gulen during election campaign
Michael T. Flynn, President Trump’s first national security adviser, acted as a foreign agent representing the interests of Turkey’s government in exchange for more than $500,000 during last year’s campaign even as he was advising Mr. Trump. Mr. Flynn was assigned to investigate Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who lives in Pennsylvania.
Gulen has ‘no intention of leaving the US’
The Alliance for Shared Values “rejects the accusation” by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus that Gulen is planning a move to Canada, it said in a statement on its website. The Alliance also reiterated its call for an end to attempts to stymie voices of democratic dissent, including journalists, academics, Kurds, liberals and participants in the Hizmet movement.
Deporting Gülen would undercut NATO
Sacrificing Gülen, however, will not bring Turkey in from the cold. While the pretext might have been rooting out Gülen’s followers, the reality is that Erdogan has used the purge to target secularists, liberals, and those officers whose training and experience in NATO he believes make them prone to oppose his vision and goals for Turkey.
The Atlantic Institute announces the Art & Essay Contest winners
The Atlantic Institute has announced the 11th year winners of its traditional Art & Essay Contest. This academic year’s theme was “Compassion in Action… Caring Matters!” Awards Ceremony will be held at noon on Saturday, April 15th, 2017.
Atlantic Institute promotes peace through dialogue
It is well known that the institute is inspired by the peaceful teachings of Fethullah Gülen, whose decades-long commitment to education, altruistic community service, and interfaith harmony has inspired millions around the world. Gülen has reinterpreted aspects of Islamic tradition to meet the needs of contemporary Muslims.
Democracy is vanishing in Turkey, specialist says
Zeynalov reminded the attendees that Erdogan also was arrested a couple of decades ago. That eventually helped him to become famous and won him the elections five years later. But it didn’t stop Erdogan to use the same law for justifying the arrest of Zeynalov in 2014.
