Although the AK Party government has been, since a graft probe that rocked the government was made public on Dec. 17 of last year, accusing the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, of infiltrating the police and judiciary and forming a “parallel state” bent on regime change, these new [voice recordings] leaks suggest that the government has been making its own moves to fill the civil service with sympathizers.
Trying to size up the Supreme Court of Appeals, which would have the final say in Doğan’s case, Erdoğan allegedly asks Ergin, “What is the situation after the latest law we passed [on the Supreme Court of Appeals]? Did we set up our own game there?”
“Nearly 2,000 friends who were lawyers practicing in the private sector are being transferred into the system” is Ergin’s alleged response.
Excerpted from the news piece published on Today’s Zaman, 04 March 2014, Tuesday
UN Human Rights: Turkey should promptly end its protracted state of emergency
Routine extensions of the state of emergency in Turkey have led to profound human rights violations against hundreds of thousands of people – from arbitrary deprivation of the right to work and to freedom of movement, to torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions and infringements of the rights to freedom of association and expression, according to a report* issued by the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday.
Hatred-inciting discourses and the debate on ‘genocide and crime against humanity’
Speaking to reporters on April 29 during his return from an official visit to Kuwait, President Erdoğan made these much-debated remarks: “Those belonging to this organization [Hizmet movement], from top to bottom, should certainly pay a price. They will either respect state authority or WILL PERISH.”
Strategic defamation by Stratfor
Abdulhamit Bilici, March 18, 2012 (originally published on September 2, 2010) A few weeks ago, an American researcher by the name of Reva Bhalla came to visit us upon a reference from a good friend of ours. He told us that he was researching political inclinations in Turkey on behalf of the Stratfor intelligence firm. […]
The Gülen movement as the victim of an orchestrated smear campaign
When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) took office in 2002 under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the party’s commitment to democratization was promising. As many political scientists agreed, the first years of AKP rule were a success story, and that was why, with its secular multi-party democracy and its Muslim character, Turkey had emerged as a role model for the Muslim world.
CPJ report: Turkey world’s 10th most dangerous country for journalists
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Wednesday released a special report for 2014 designating Turkey is the world’s 10 worst country for journalists, once again underlining the country’s deteriorating situation for freedom of expression and free media.
Elizabeth Munisoglu on Hizmet Movement
Elizabeth Munisoglu is a Commissioner at State of California Superior Court, Los Angeles County. She received her Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University School of Law in 1988. Munisoglu specialized in criminal law, and served as the Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney for 18 years.
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