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

Neither conservative nor democrat

Media campaigns, accusations and the prime minister’s statements about the leader of the movement are of unprecedented scale in Turkey. Filing records on sympathizers of the Gülen movement, removing them from public offices they happen to occupy, attacking its financial institutions; none of this has ever been seen in the past regarding Islamic movements.

Will Erdoğan succeed in wresting away the reins of religion from civilian hands?

I am going to talk about a situation similar to the process by which the tools of production become state possessions. These are concepts far removed not only from Western culture but from socialist ideologies as well.

[Part 1] Islamic scholar Gülen calls conditions in Turkey worse than military coup

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has inspired a worldwide network active in education, charity and outreach, has described large-scale slander, pressure and oppression his Hizmet movement currently faces as worse than that seen during anti-democratic military coup regimes witnessed by Turkey.

Hiring based on ‘color lists’ a violation of Constitution, analysts say

A public sector employee selection process using personal data to create “color lists” that profiled and separated the candidates into acceptable and non-acceptable categories, as was recently maintained by the Taraf daily, is a violation of the Constitution, analysts have agreed.

Civil society will not bow

Turkey is effectively governed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in violation of all the constitutional provisions that define a parliamentary system and a presidential oath that obliges him to maintain political neutrality. Claiming that serious corruption allegations against members of his Cabinet and family were fabricated in a conspiracy to topple his government by what he calls the “parallel state”

Erdoğan has to respect civil society

ŞAHİN ALPAY Colleagues and friends ask me, “What is the reason for the feud between the government and the Gülen movement and between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Fethullah Gülen?” This is, briefly, my response. In Turkey the demand for education is very high. Universities are unable to meet the demand and there are […]

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

“Somalis will remember your aid”

Religious leader: I was told to blame Gülen movement for police banning my group meeting

Ministerial bureaucrats being purged over their alleged affiliations with Hizmet

Afghan, Pakistani leaders praise Turkish schools at Ankara summit

Silencing Taraf daily

TUSKON denies mass resignations after corruption probe

PBS airs story on Gülen movement

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News