An İstanbul-based lawyer filed a criminal complaint on Wednesday against Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, with allegations such as the establishment of a criminal organization, organizing an attempt to overthrow the government, organized fraud and abuse of duty as a civil servant.
Lawyer Hüdaverdi Yıldırım submitted a petition to the İstanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office in which he accused Gülen of being behind the corruption scandal that came to public attention on Dec. 17 of last year. Claiming that the graft probe is not about corruption and bribery but about overthrowing a legitimate government, Yıldırım argued that those who emphasize the independence of the judiciary are actually asking for privileged status for the ideology of their community — by which Yıldırım meant the Hizmet movement.
Yıldırım also claimed that Gülen is guilty of using his influence over public prosecutors to make them target the government.
The Hizmet movement is a religious and social movement that is inspired by the teaching of US-based scholar Gülen.
German Politician: Turkey like Nazi Germany after Reichstag
FDP leader Christian Lindner said he saw parallels between Erdogan’s behavior and the aftermath of the Reichstag fire in 1933 portrayed by the Nazis as a Communist plot against the government and used by Adolf Hitler to justify massively curtailing civil liberties. “We are experiencing a coup d’etat from above like in 1933 after the Reichstag fire. He is building an authoritarian regime tailored solely to himself,” Lindner said.
Gülen says he could be blamed for assassination of an MHP, CHP politician
US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen said on Monday that the possible assassination of an important politician from either the Republican People’s Party (CHP) or the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the coming days might be blamed on him by pro-government circles.
Man behind Gülen probe also filed complaints about PM Erdoğan
An investigation into Gülen was launched by an Ankara prosecutor’s office earlier this week following a complaint filed by C.O. The former noncommissioned officer told the media that his complaint against the scholar was based on a number of reports that had appeared in government newspapers. “I am basing my complaint on newspaper reports and my thoughts. I am unhappy. I do not want to be promoted in the media or become popular. I do not like things like this. I have also filed many criminal complaints against the prime minister,” he said.
Biden says US courts to decide on Gülen’s extradition
In a development that surprised many, the US State Department said on Tuesday that Turkey has formally requested the extradition of Gülen but not on issues related to the recent coup attempt, which Turkish leaders have accused him of inspiring.
Turkey could find itself facing hefty legal bill for mass purges
In 2006, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that Turkish citizen Osman Murat Ulke, who refused to perform compulsory military service as an act of civil disobedience, had been subjected to “civil death” due to the numerous prosecutions he faced after his original jail sentence. Ulke’s expulsion from his profession and the prospect of an interminable series of convictions, which forced him into hiding, constituted a “disproportionate” punishment, the court said.
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The government took new measures to prevent the graft probe from proceeding, in an attempt to create the public perception that the corruption allegations are the making of the Hizmet movement and its alleged foreign collaborators. For instance, a new measure introduced by the government to tighten control over the Internet, including powers allowing the authorities to block websites for privacy violations without a court decision, is part of a campaign to prevent news related to the corruption scandal from being disseminated further through the Internet.
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