600 complaints filed alleging slander, libel against Gülen


Date posted: March 29, 2014

ANKARA

A total of 600 complaints have been filed against those who have slandered and libeled Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen since a major corruption and bribery investigation became public on Dec. 17 of last year.

In the months since the corruption scandal broke, Gülen’s lawyer, Nurullah Albayrak, has filed complaints some 600 times against those who have defamed Gülen. Nearly 500 of those complaints were filed with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has political immunity, and therefore no criminal complaints may be filed against him, but Gülen’s lawyer has filed slander suits against Erdoğan. Gülen’s lawyer has also filed a separate suit against Prime Minister Erdoğan accusing him of violating Gülen’s personal rights and inciting hatred and fuelling hostility in society with hate speech used at Erdoğan’s party rallies.

The Hizmet movement inspired by Gülen, its supporters and Gülen himself have been exposed to a large-scale defamation campaign conducted by circles close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) since a major corruption scandal that implicated four government ministers and many other state bureaucrats and high-ranking individuals. The government accuses Gülen and his movement of being behind what he says is a fabricated corruption investigation aimed at toppling his government. Several top government officials have used unsubstantiated and harsh defamatory expressions with reference to Gülen at almost every recent meeting or AK Party rally.

In addition to libel suits, Gülen’s lawyer, Albayrak, has also sent a total of 25 formal requests for a correction to pro-government dailies such as Sabah, Star, Yenişafak and Akit for false reports on Gülen and the Hizmet movement.

Albayrak also filed a criminal complaint against pro-government Sabah daily columnist Sevilay Yükselir for using untrue statements about Gülen in her column and during TV news programs she has participated in. Several criminal complaints were also filed against Fatih Tezcan, who is the owner of the website “Analizmerkezi.com,” for baseless comments about Gülen in Twitter posts, on TV news programs and on his website. A libel suit was also filed against Tezcan on the same charges. Among other things, Tezcan claimed on his website that Gülen was linked to American and Israel intelligence organizations, an allegation Gülen denies.

Gülen’s lawyer also filed a criminal complaint against Akit daily columnist Mehtap Yılmaz on the grounds that she gravely violated the personal rights of Gülen. In addition, a libel suit was filed against Star daily columnist Elif Çakır, who used unfounded defamatory words about Gülen in her March 16 column titled “Fethullah Gülen’s small betrayal.”

 

Source: Todays Zaman , March 28, 2014


Related News

Members of US Congress withstand intense pressure over press freedom letter

Members of the US Congress who submitted a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry last month on the dismal state of media freedom in Turkey are standing firm behind their signatures despite intense pressure from the Turkish government and the pro-government media.

Russian scholar: Gülen promotes peaceful education for a world mired in conflict

Prominent Russian scholar Professor Rostislav Ribakov has praised US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for the schools opened around the world by his supporters, saying that these schools are bringing up a new generation of students who uphold world peace.

An Indian professor’s reflections on Erdogan’s visit to India, crackdown on Gulen movement

There has been no evidence of any terrorist activity by the followers of Gulen in any part of the world including Turkey. In India, they have been running their institutions: schools, coaching Institutes, and dormitories for more than 15 years, but none has been accused of any kind of terrorism and crime.

Kosovo Extradition of Wanted Turkish ‘Gulenist’ Suspended

Kosovo prosecutor Ali Rexha on Thursday withdrew his request for the court to allow the extradition of Turkish citizen Ugur Toksoy, who was arrested on October 27 on a warrant arrest issued by Turkey.

Canberra followers of Fethullah Gulen afraid to return to Turkey

Despite having recently become an Australian citizen, Mr Erdogan fears if he returned to Turkey at the moment he would be arrested as soon as he stepped off the plane. He has friends in Turkey who have been stripped of their livelihoods and forced to go into hiding as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cracks down on “enemies of the state”.

KADİP’s 1st international photography contest held for peace

The Intercultural Dialogue Platform (KADİP) of the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) announced the winners of its very first international photography contest, “Peace in the frame,” at a gala on Tuesday night at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in İstanbul.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

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

In Case You Missed It

Media’s test with politics: this is utterly disgraceful

60-year-old Turkish villager detained after questioning gov’t coup narrative

People happy in town Kimse Yok Mu helped build

Hizmet turns theories of Millennium Development Goals into practice

Fethullah Gulen’s Message on the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Turkey’s Hizmet Purge Is Seeping into the UK Creating Fear in Some Communities

Diplomatic Row over Gulen Influence in Africa

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News