Gülen’s lawyer files lawsuit over unlawful police probe into Hizmet


Date posted: July 11, 2014

ISTANBUL
Nurullah Albayrak, lawyer for Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has filed a lawsuit against a police chief who issued a written order to 30 provinces to launch a sweeping campaign into the faith-based Hizmet movement on what Albayrak says are trumped-up charges.

The order was dated June 25 but was only covered by the media as of Sunday. It was drafted by Turgut Aslan, the head of the National Police Department’s Counterterrorism Unit (TEM).

Speaking to the media after lodging a petition with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Albayrak said those who contributed to the unlawful probe into the Hizmet movement should be held accountable. Aslan issued the order after Ankara Prosecutor Serdar Coşkun launched an investigation into the Hizmet movement.

In the order, which includes 23 articles, Aslan claimed — without providing any evidence — that Hizmet seeks to overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and seize control of the state by destroying the constitutional order. The TEM head asked officials at police departments of 30 provinces to contribute to an ongoing investigation launched against the Hizmet movement by the Anti-constitutional Crimes Investigation Bureau at the Chief Prosecutor’s Office in Ankara. He also asked the officials to inquire about members of Hizmet in their provinces to see if they are at all armed.

Albayrak also said he will demand that the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) investigate prosecutor Coşkun, who sought the police’s help in what observers say was a heavy crackdown by the government on the faith-based movement through fabricated charges.

As part of the investigation, the prosecutor asked the police to find out what the “parallel structure” — a reference to the Hizmet movement — is exactly, who the members are, what the objectives of this group are, how it is organized and what its human and financial resources are. Prosecutor Coşkun also asked the Anti-smuggling and Organized Crime Bureau to cooperate with the Ankara Police Department’s Counterterrorism Unit to find out if the Hizmet movement is an armed group and if it can be considered a terrorist organization.

Albayrak asserted that the order is an illegal one and that it lacks any solid legal ground. “Who gave this illegal order? Who carried it out? I filed a lawsuit against the Counterterrorism Unit for its part in this unlawful probe,” he said.

Source: Todays Zaman , July 9, 2013


Related News

Can Erdoğan finish off the Gülen movement?

In other words, this is not a power struggle but a one-sided attack by an increasingly authoritarian leader on a civil society movement critical of the way government rules the nation.
In this asymmetrical fight, the Hizmet movement has nothing to lose. It is composed of individuals who are dedicated to doing something that they believe is for the good of humanity.

Civic engagement, success and the Gülen movement

MUHAMMED ÇETİN The recent extraordinary interest in activities by and related to the Gülen movement leads many to think about civic engagement and its efficacy and success. Civic engagement is extremely vital for improving and enhancing conditions in any contemporary democracy. It means promoting the quality of life in a community through both political and […]

Iran’s Turkish gold rush

While the gas-for-gold scheme may have been technically legal before Congress finally shut it down in July, it appears to have exposed the Turkish political elite to a vast Iranian underworld. According to Today’s Zaman, suspicious transactions between Iran and Turkey could exceed $119 billion — nine times the total of gas-for-gold transactions reported.

When The Last Barricade Falls: Remembering Unlawful Takeover Of Turkey’s Largest Daily – Zaman

On March 4, 2016, exactly one year ago today , hundreds of riot police officers fired rubber bullets and gassed loyal readers of Turkey’s best-selling daily when they stood vigil on the sidewalk across the newspaper’s offices to peacefully protest the news of impending the unlawful takeover of Zaman newspaper.

GYV lashes out at ‘traitor’ label for attending EU ambassadors meeting

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), in a written statement, has denounced some media outlets’ labeling the body a “traitor” over its attendance at the traditional lunch meeting of the EU ambassadors. The statement criticized the allegations published in some media outlets which “in an effort to distort the truth and smear the foundation” said the GYV betrayed the country by attending such a meeting.

Independent deputy says there may be an attempt to pin political murders on Gülen movement

İlhan İşbilen, an independent deputy for İzmir, has said some sections of society are part of a “dirty scenario” that aims to make sure the Gülen movement, a faith-based grassroots social initiative, is uttered in the same breath as extrajudicial political killings.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

NBA star Enes Kanter on faith, basketball and political activism

Kimse Yok Mu: A charity with a difference

Gulen’s books draw large interest at Indonesia’s book fair

‘Hizmet conspiracy’ theories rejected at iftar hosted by Alevis

Russian Diplomat Assassin’s Sister Says Police School, Not Gulen, Radicalized Him

As I researched the Gulen schools in Germany, I experienced beyond what I had expected

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu drills 1,396 wells in Africa

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News