The Erdoğan mafia

Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz
Dr. Ihsan Yilmaz


Date posted: July 23, 2014

İHSAN YILMAZ

Turkey is now run by a mafia. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is at the top of this organization. He has created parallel financial, social, religious and legal structures to maintain this mafia organization. Since he was not able to fully control the judiciary, he has now created a new and extraordinary court system that is filled with loyal, partisan judges and it has now started to do whatever Erdoğan asks it.

Erdoğan is so intoxicated with power that he does not hide what he has been doing with these courts. A few weeks ago, he reportedly said that the government was now creating new courts that would deal with the Hizmet movement. Yesterday, he had a lapse and confessed that the recent detentions would also spread to other areas. How could he know the details of a judicial case? He referred to journalists, academics and businessmen affiliated with Hizmet. Depending on the polls, he may decide to detain these people before or after the presidential election.

For eight months he has been talking about a judicial coup against him, but with no proof. Even some of his supporters have started questioning the credibility of these allegations. He had to do something. Moreover, his cheap rhetoric on the Palestinian problem has been challenged and he has been asked to “walk his talk” or stop abusing the problem for domestic electoral considerations. Previously, he had a rhetorical monopoly over the issue but for the first time, he has begun to wish that the Palestinian issue was not talked about in Turkey. This is another reason for the recent detentions. He wants the public not to talk about the Palestinian problem and the Turkish diplomats who are in the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). So, he is now trying to distract the public’s attention.

His new courts are very helpful in this. A single judge decides about everything and suspects can only object to these decisions in front of another single judge who is also in this newly created court structure. This is a kind of closed system and the suspects can be kept in prison for months before they see a serious court. The newly appointed judges are known for their pro-Erdoğan stance and some of them are the ones who have released Dec. 17 corruption suspects. Erdoğan is not only the prosecutor in the anti Hizmet case but he is the chief judge.

Source: Today's Zaman , July 23, 2014


Related News

Domestic violence addressed at GYV Women’s Platform int’l conference

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL The reasons behind domestic violence and the role of family in the prevalence of violence in society are being discussed during an international conference organized by the Journalists and Writers Foundation‘s (GYV) Women’s Platform in İstanbul. The conference, titled “Family and Community Violence,” kicked off on Friday night with a reception at […]

Organization (Kimse Yok Mu?) helped 79 Syrian families

“Is Anybody There?” Organization officials delivered donations, blankets and food to Syrian families with the coordination of AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Department) officials. The president of “Is Anybody There?” Elazig branch, Mr. Onder Colak, noted that they have been making donations to Syrian refugees in Turkey since the first days of civil war outbreak in Syria.

Hizmet in Context: Societal Islam Versus Political Islam

The Hizmet movement is according to Ebaugh (2010) a civic movement rooted in Islam that is independent from the state. Others see it simply as a faith- based movement (Esposito and Yilmaz 2010). Agai (2004) describes it as an education network and Hendrick (2009) as a global pressure group to promote Turkish interests.

Opposing the majority

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will not back down from its decision to close prep schools, despite ongoing discussion on the matter and deepening polarization over the government’s move. Only 21 percent of people polled support the government’s move, according to a survey conducted by Mak Danışmanlık (Mak Consultancy).

Turkish finance minister declines to comment on ‘color lists’

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek on Tuesday declined to comment on a question about claims that the government recruits public sector employees using “color lists” to avoid people affiliated with groups such as the Hizmet movement and critics of the government.

From republic to al-mukhabarat state

As seen in [an official] document published on Friday, MİT has ordered its branches to finish off Hizmet and other religious groups. MİT now stands above all other institutions of Turkey, as well as the judicial and legislative branches.

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

Islamic scholar Gülen’s poems turned into songs for international album

Turkey squandered historic opportunity to achieve democracy, says Gülen

When lawlessness becomes a way of life

Samanyolu TV, Kimse Yok Mu raise TL 65 million for quake victims

Accused by Erdogan of plotting a coup, Hizmet movement fears for freedom in Turkey

Gulen Institute Youth Platfrom announces essay contest: ‘Hospitality in the Global Village’

Gülen won’t change his stand, urges followers’ patience

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News