Cabinet bans charity Kimse Yok Mu from collecting donations

A Palestinian kid carries an aid package delivered by Kimse Yok Mu? charity organization in Gaza. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mehmet Ali Poyraz)
A Palestinian kid carries an aid package delivered by Kimse Yok Mu? charity organization in Gaza. (Photo: Today's Zaman, Mehmet Ali Poyraz)


Date posted: October 6, 2014

Turkish charity Kimse Yok Mu’s (Is Anybody There) right to collect charity donations has been withheld because of a recent Cabinet decision.

On Monday, the Taraf daily ran a story arguing that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government planned to remove Kimse Yok Mu’s public interest status, which would prevent it from collecting donations. The report argued that the proposal was pending with the Cabinet, expecting it to take effect before the Eid al-Adha holiday, which will start on Saturday.

However, this decision came even before the Eid al-Adha holiday. İsmail Cingöz, the president of Kimse Yok Mu, announced the Cabinet decision via his official Twitter account on Thursday. With the decision, Kimse Yok Mu will no longer be able to collect financial donations from the public.

Kimse Yok Mu gave an official statement on Monday harshly criticizing the decision, as there are no legal grounds for it. “We do not want to believe that the government would be part of such a plot against our organization,” the group said in its statement.

Prior to this statement, Kimse Yok Mu held a press conference on Monday morning. Kimse Yok Mu Secretary-General Savaş Metin said the government’s new aim is to remove the status of “public interest” from the association, which allows it to collect money without receiving permission government — it is a politically motivated move. The organization is a humanitarian NGO and strictly apolitical.

Kimse Yok Mu is the only aid organization in Turkey that holds UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) special consultative status, and it developed internationally recognized relief programs in partnership with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) in 2013. It was also granted the Turkish Grand National Assembly Outstanding Service Award in 2013, under the AK Party rule.

However, a smear campaign against the organization has been launched since Dec. 17, with the breaking of a corruption investigation into leading AK Party figures. Due to a government grudge against the grassroots Hizmet movement — it holds the movement responsible for the corruption investigation — President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was previously prime minister and AK Party chairman, has targeted Kimse Yok Mu, which is influenced by the Hizmet movement.

Source: Today's Zaman , October 2, 2014

Tags: | | |


Related News

“1915” by Prof. Ihsan Yilmaz (1)

One can draw parallels with the Kurdish Question here. Similar to Armenian gangs’ massacres in Muslim villages, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has also been engaged in terrorism against civilians and has been bombing cities, shopping malls, mosques and schools. But we all agree that all of these do not justify a state repression of all Kurds or their forced relocation, etc.

Turkey’s Internet watchdog blocks access to website broadcasting Gülen’s speeches

Turkey’s state-controlled Internet watchdog, the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB), has blocked access to herkul.org, a website that regularly broadcasts speeches by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Gov’t keeps purging, dozens of police officials across Turkey have been removed

The government’s massive purge of members of the police and judiciary following the eruption of a corruption and bribery scandal continued across the country on Tuesday, with dozens more police officials being removed from their posts.

Turkey’s MGK says discussed organizations threatening national security

Although Erdoğan insists that there would be a legal move against the Hizmet, opponents and critical voices point to lack of evidence necessary for a criminal investigation against the Movement.

Faces of Manisa prisoners rendered unrecognizable due to torture, lawyer says

The faces of people held in a Manisa prison have become unrecognizable due to heavy torture, Seda Tanrıkulu, a lawyer representing some of the prisoners, told the Turkish media. “When I met with prisoners, there were bruises on the face of D.K., made by the boots of officials,” Tanrıkulu said.

Jailed journalist facing new trial for not calling Gülen movement a terror organization

Journalist Emre Soncan, who has been behind bars for 20 months, is facing a new trial for not describing the Gülen movement as a terrorist organization. Soncan, 36, used to work for Turkey’s best-selling Zaman daily, which was closed down by the Turkish government in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 due to its links to the Gülen movement.

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

The Crisis in Turkey?

Call for Paper: Muslims, Sports and Physical Activity

Children from all over the world embarked on Turkish voyage

Turks Should Question The Official Narrative That Gulen Was Behind The Coup

New Level of Witch Hunt: Relatives are Targeted in Turkey

Kimse Yok Mu: A charity with a difference

Failing to arrest outspoken NBA star, Turkish gov’t detains father

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News