Criminal complaint filed against media organizations publishing Gülen’s speeches

Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen. (Photo: Cihan)
Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen. (Photo: Cihan)


Date posted: September 2, 2015

An organization called the Law and Democracy Foundation which was established by lawyer Mehmet Ali Canlı, a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) hopeful in the June 7 general election, on Wednesday filed a criminal complaint against media organizations that publish the speeches ofFethullah Gülen, a renowned Islamic scholar.

The move came a day after Turkish police raided İpek Media Group in a government-backed operation in an attempt to silence media critical of the government.

Canlı, who ran as a deputy in June and failed to be elected to Parliament, made a statement to the press in front of Ankara Courthouse, saying that public prosecutors failed to fulfill their duty by not taking any action against the named media outlets up until now.

The organization also filed a criminal complaint against the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), which Canlı said never imposed any sanctions on the media outlets. The media outlets mentioned in the complaint included TV stations Samanyolu, S Haber, Mehtap, Bugün and Kanaltürk, the newspapers Today’s Zaman, Zaman and Meydan, and the website herkül.org.

Canlı also claimed that access to these publications should have been blocked long before he filed his complaint.

The AK Party declared a war against the Gülen movement, so called as it is inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Gülen, after a corruption scandal involving four government ministers and their sons went public on Dec. 17, 2013. In an effort to discredit the graft probes, the government has labeled them as a coup attempt against the government by the Gülen movement.

Source: Today's Zaman , September 02, 2015

Tags: | | | | |


Related News

Academic Freedom in Turkey Under Seige

It appears that Fethullah Gülen, a U.S.-based Islamic preacher from Turkey who promotes peace and tolerance, and the schools associated with his religious Hizmet movement can’t get a break. Now, Gülen’s schools are being targeted in his home country by the Turkish government’s ruling Justice and Development Party, known as the AKP, which should dispel any notion in the U.S. that the AKP is somehow in cahoots with the Gülen movement.

Fethullah Gulen’s stance on democracy 1994-2016

Mr. Gulen has reiterated his clear stance on democracy, in the wake of the coup attempt in Turkey. Here is what he had said back in June 1994: “I believe, from now on, both in Turkey and in the rest of the world, there will we no going back from democracy.”

PM’s discourse over ‘no family, children’ offensive, hurtful

On Feb. 23, Prime Minister Erdoğan targeted Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli due to his criticism of the government in the ongoing corruption investigation, saying: “He does not have any concept of family. He has no such concern. We know what children mean,” in an obvious reference to Bahçeli’s unmarried status.

Prosecutor’s office launches investigation into Şahin’s claim

Şahin claimed that a high-level judge at the Supreme Court of Appeals had acted contrary to legal procedure and contacted Gülen before issuing his final verdict in the case against the businessman several years ago. “What should I do in this case?” asked the judge, according to the claims of the former justice minister. He went on to say that Gülen had allegedly told the judge to do “what justice requires.”

A major scandal by the Mukhabarat state

The voice recordings of four phone calls made to Fethullah Gülen were posted on the Internet at midnight on Monday. As you know, Gülen lives in the US. Those who phoned him are some executives from institutions established and run by the people who are inspired by the Hizmet movement in Turkey. The calls do not have any incriminating content. Rather, one of these unlawfully wiretapped recordings exposes how the Hizmet movement was targeted in a conspiracy by circles close to the government.

Pro-gov’t Islamist ideologue says Muslims can’t accept West or EU

Hayrettin Karaman, a professor of theology and an Islamist ideologue, is highly respected by the government and is seen as the main ideological source of justification for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s initiatives. Karaman wrote a column on Feb. 13 entitled “The condition for support and friendship” in the pro-government daily Yeni Şafak, saying that relations with the West should be restricted to necessary engagement only.

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 real problem is not an AK Party-Gülen movement conflict

Those who infiltrate the state

What’s Friendship Got to Do With [Mr. Gulen’s] Extradition?

Mothers, fathers crying and praying due to extensive victimization

Turkey tries to trap Obama with extradition demand [of Mr. Gülen]

Journalist: I was threatened over not supporting government

‘I admire Fethullah Gulen’s vision of a world that’s different from the one we have’

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News