Failed 2016 coup was gov’t plot to purge Gülenists from state bodies, journalist claims

“July 15 was a terrifying incident. We still haven’t solved the mystery behind it. However, I can easily say it wasn’t a coup. … We must examine the results of such occurrences. Who benefited from it? They played [with us] under the pretext of a [fake] coup, and the government, one person [Erdoğan] profited handsomely from this, taking over the whole country,” Ataklı said.

Beating ‘domestic enemies’ in the game of ‘advanced’ democracy

The writers, intellectuals and the journalists close to the Hizmet movement have, from the very beginning, called on the government to take legal steps against those whom he constantly labels the “parallel state” so that they could also know who they are.

Sweep these [journalists] off the floor

Sevgi Akarçeşme, former editor in chief of Today’s Zaman, recalls the night when the police raided the building of the most important and independent opposition newspaper in Turkey. «What happened to journalists today» she warns « can happen to citizens tomorrow».

Former US diplomat: War on Turkish schools in Africa ruining Turkey’s credibility

Former US Ambassador to Ethiopia and Adjunct Professor of International Relations David Shinn told Sunday’s Zaman in an exclusive interview that Turkey tends to lose its credibility when it asks African governments to close Turkish schools as African leaders traditionally put up resistance when they are told what to do by an “external power.”

Corruption investigation: Questions that will hound PM Erdoğan

Everyone is wondering now what is behind the corruption investigation, and the first “suspect” to come to many minds is the Islamist Gülen movement. Tensions between this group and the AKP have been rising over the years, and boiled over recently due to the prep-school issue – a matter that has received wide media coverage.

The Gülen movement denies this but the vitriol flying between daily Zaman, which is close to Gülen, and Yeni Şafak, which is staunchly pro-AKP, is enough to give one a sense of the bitter struggle involved.

Cancer patient arrested over Gülen links deteriorates to stage 4 in one month

Fatma Aşkın, a breast cancer patient who was arrested on Feb.14 in the southeastern Turkish province of Gaziantep due to her alleged links to the Gülen movement, has experienced a spread of the disease during her one-month stay in prison and has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.