IFJ representative denied permission to visit journalist Karaca in prison

A court ruled for Hidayet Karaca's arrest pending trial on Dec. 19, 2014. (Photo: Cihan)
A court ruled for Hidayet Karaca's arrest pending trial on Dec. 19, 2014. (Photo: Cihan)


Date posted: May 26, 2015

The Justice Ministry has rejected a request from a coalition of international journalist organizations to visit imprisoned Turkish journalist Hidayet Karaca at Silivri Prison in İstanbul.

Documents published by the private Cihan news agency on Saturday show that a judge turned down an official request from British journalist Barry White to visit Karaca, who has been imprisoned since Dec. 14, 2014, when he was detained along with dozens of others in a police operation against what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan calls the “parallel structure.”

White was to visit Karaca on behalf of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the UK’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), according to a petition signed by Ricardo Gutierrez, the secretary-general of the EFJ. The judge did not say why the request was rejected, citing only two articles of a law and a regulation that concern security measures in prison facilities and visits to prisoners.

The IFJ, EFJ and NUJ represent more than 600,000 journalists in 134 countries, according to the petition addressed to the Turkish authorities. Karaca, who is currently being held in Silivri Prison without any indictment or any reason for the extension of his arrest, was detained just three days before the first anniversary of the massive corruption investigations of Dec. 17 and 25 that implicated people in the inner circle of President Erdoğan.

Erdoğan, who was the prime minister at the time, denied the claims of corruption and described the scandal as a plot against his government by foreign powers and the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, which Erdoğan says has set up a “parallel structure” within the state. In the December 2014 crackdown, Karaca and three former police chiefs were arrested on charges of leading a terrorist network, while other detainees, including Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı, were released pending trial.

Source: Today's Zaman , May 23, 2015

Tags: | | |


Related News

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

The Hizmet is based on the idea of a “modern Islam compatible with democracy” that has been disseminated by Fethullah Gülen since the 1960’s. Gülen, now 75 years old, is a former imam, writer, thinker and teacher. He has been living in the US in volunteer exile since 1999, when he left Turkey due to successive military coups. Even from afar, Gülen keeps influencing thousands of Turks and Muslims around the world.

It’s not about a conflict between the government and Hizmet movement

Insanity ripples through the country, the media and the people. If graft or corruption is the prevailing form of life spreading from the state to society, and if this form of life is supported by people, then we are hitting the bottom day by day. A prosecutor can say “We can detain 500 thousand people if necessary” and still hold his post as if he said quite an ordinary thing. Whereas in Europe mental health of such a prosecutor would be called into question and most probably examined.

Gulen-inspired school raided by Turkish diplomats, Turkish soldiers in Afghanistan

A group of Turkish diplomats led by Turkish Consul General Şevki Seçkin Alpay together with dozens of Turkish soldiers and Afghan military police officers raided an Afghan-Turk school in Mazar-e Sharif, northern Afghanistan, on Tuesday.

Russian scholar: Gülen promotes peaceful education for a world mired in conflict

Prominent Russian scholar Professor Rostislav Ribakov has praised US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen for the schools opened around the world by his supporters, saying that these schools are bringing up a new generation of students who uphold world peace.

Erdoğan officially declares his despotism

Erdoğan delivered a speech that will be remembered as a disgrace in political history as he referred to the struggle against the Hizmet movement.He not only confessed that the government has been tyrannizing certain social segments but also openly revealed future illegalities.

Turkish president approves closure of schools run by Erdogan rival

Turkish President Abdullah Gul approved on Wednesday a law closing private preparatory schools, many of which are a source of income and influence for an Islamic cleric accused by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of seeking to topple him.

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

Turkish official says 252 companies seized over Gülen links

Purge accelerates Islamist radicalization in Turkey

I am the mastermind behind the failed Turkish coup attempt! I am Mr. Gulen’s secret ‘abi’

Defending Hizmet

Enes Kanter calls Turkey’s Erdoğan ‘Hitler of our century’ after airport detainment

Kimse Yok Mu did not forget Bangladeshis in Eid al-Adha

Fethullah Gülen’s message to PM Tayyip Erdoğan regarding consultants [in 2005]

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News