Suspicious raid against Hizmet-affiliated highschool famous for its success

Four tax inspectors from the Finance Ministry with 40 police officers carried out a raid as part of the government-backed operation targeting the Hizmet movement at the private Burç High School in the Çukurova district of southern province of Adana, opened by volunteers of the Hizmet movement.
Four tax inspectors from the Finance Ministry with 40 police officers carried out a raid as part of the government-backed operation targeting the Hizmet movement at the private Burç High School in the Çukurova district of southern province of Adana, opened by volunteers of the Hizmet movement.


Date posted: March 22, 2015

The raid came just two days after Turkey’s Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM) announced the results of the Higher Education Entrance Examination (YGS), which revealed that students from Gülen-inspired schools are among the top scorers of the exam, casting doubt on the objectivity of the raid.

Parents of the students at Burç High School, affiliated with the faith-based Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, see the raid as part of a government-sponsored defamation campaign.

Çukurova Burç High School was raided over alleged violations of Tax Procedural Law by school administrators. Reacting against the raid, Burç Schools General Manager Sultan Sözeri said auditors could “inspect the school whenever they want.”

Expressing that the raid was aimed at creating a negative image, Sözeri said, “I know that some parents who see this situation will be more willing to send their children to our school.”

Sözeri stated that the school was inspected just one month ago by the ministry, adding that the search and the raid were illegal.

“The top scorers from the province in the most recent YGS were from Çukurova Burç College. We think that with the raid is trying to overshadow the school’s successes,” Sözeri added.

The Hizmet movement has been targeted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government since a corruption probe came to public attention on Dec. 17, 2013, implicating senior members of the administration. Erdoğan, who refers to the movement as the “parallel state” or “parallel structure,” accuses it of being behind the corruption operation. Those in the movement strongly deny the claim.

Erdoğan and the government have taken action to ensure the closure of schools operated by Gülen followers in many countries around the world. Gülen-inspired institutions and schools in Turkey are also under intense pressure from the government. On many occasions, Erdoğan asked his supporters not to send their children to schools, dormitories or prep courses affiliated with the movement. In May of last year, for example, then-Prime Minister Erdoğan publicly advised supporters of the ruling AK Party not to send their children to schools inspired by Gülen. “We will not even give water to them [members of Gülen movement],” he vowed.

He also ordered officials at AK Party-run municipalities to seize land and buildings belonging to the Gülen movement by any means.

Source: BGNNews , March 21, 2015

Tags: | | | | |


Related News

Turkey Is No Longer a Reliable Ally

The U.S. and Turkey have faced difficult days before, such as after Turkey’s 1974 invasion of Cyprus and the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, yet American and Turkish leaders managed to find their way back. This time will be different. The failed coup was a clarifying moment. Ankara and Washington don’t share values or interests.

Parents seek TL 40,000 in damages for violation of students’ educational rights

Parents İsmail and Seval Topçuoğlu are seeking TL 40,000 in damages from the Education Ministry for violating students’ educational rights by adopting a new regulation about dershanes (prep schools), claiming it aims to bypass a top court’s ruling to annul a controversial law to close down the schools.

Was there a sincere alliance between the Gulen Movement and Erdogan?

NRT correspondent Huner Anwer interviews Fethullah Gulen in his Pennsylvania residence ask the crucial question on alliance between the Gulen Movement and Erdogan. Gulen says, briefly, there has never been sincere alliance between them but the movement supported Erdogan as long as Erdogan stayed in line with democratic values and honored rule of law.

Media freedom in Turkey takes another blow

On Dec. 25, Mahir Zeynalov sent out two tweets. “The first tweet contained a link to a news report about the second wave of a massive graft operation and how police blocked a raid involving more than 40 suspects, including Saudi businessman Yasin al-Qadi — listed as a specially designated terrorist by the United States,” Today’s Zaman reported Jan. 31. Zeynalov’s tweets are no longer present on his Twitter account. “’Turkish prosecutors order police to arrest al-Qaeda affiliates, Erdogan’s appointed police chiefs refuse to comply,’ read the first tweet. In the second tweet, Zeynalov shared a news report detailing al-Qaeda suspects’ escape from the country after police chiefs blocked the raid on Dec. 25.”

Woman looking after disabled children alone as prosecutor husband under arrest for 270 days

Hacer Çakmak is only one of the hundreds of thousands of people who found themselves facing tremendous difficulties after the government started a desperate crackdown on the Gülen movement in the aftermath of a July 15 coup attempt.

Turkey’s post-revolutionary civil war

What does this corruption investigation has anything to do with the AKP-Gülen Movement tension? Well, the prosecutor who apparently led this investigation in big secrecy, Zekeriya Öz, is believed to be a member of the movement. Corruption is a serious matter and the real best defense would be to help bring those who are charged to justice. Meanwhile, the Gülen Movement, normally a civil society group, should help save itself from the image of secrecy and infiltration that it has been drawn into in the past decade.

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

Fethullah Gulen Criticizes the Da Vinci Code

Yamanlar Koleji crowns Turkey with second gold medal

The system is the root cause of corruption

Qur’anic Reciters of Nigeria Raise Alarm Over Turkey’s Espionage

Why Is A Cleric In The Poconos Accused Of Fomenting Turkey’s Coup Attempt?

Developing Ghana; the role of Tudec and Galaxy İnt’l School

4-year-old visits dad in jail on Children’s Day wearing T-shirt with newborn brother’s picture

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News