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

A screen shot from herkul.org shows a video featuring Gülen. (Photo: Today's Zaman)
A screen shot from herkul.org shows a video featuring Gülen. (Photo: Today's Zaman)


Date posted: February 12, 2016

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.

Turkish users could not access the website on Thursday but met with a notification saying TİB imposed a “protection measure” for the website based on a decision taken by the İstanbul 7th Penal Court of Peace on Thursday.

The website’s editor, Osman Şimşek, condemned the ban on Twitter. “Access to our herkul.org website was blocked by a court decision. Now it will not be able to build bridges among our hearts… God is generous!” he tweeted.

The move comes amid increasing pressure on the Gülen movement inspired by Gülen.

Since Turkey’s largest-ever corruption investigation was made public on Dec. 17, 2013, following police operations in the homes and offices of people from the inner circle of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), then-Prime Minister and current President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party leadership have accused sympathizers of the Gülen movement, especially those in the police forces and judiciary, of plotting to overthrow the government. The movement strongly rejects the allegations brought against it.

Since the scandal, a number of business groups, media outlets, aid organizations, civil society organizations, universities, private schools and prep schools that were established by people sympathetic to the Gülen movement have been targeted by government-orchestrated police raids and investigations.

Erdoğan has openly announced on several occasions since December 2013 that he would carry out a “witch hunt” against anyone with links to the movement. He has also ordered officials in AK Party-run municipalities to seize land and buildings belonging to institutions that are linked to the Gülen movement by any means necessary.

Source: Today's Zaman , February 11, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Kimse Yok Mu delivers iftar meals to homes

Turkish charity organization Kimse Yok Mu (KYM) delivers fast-breaking (iftar) meals for the needy families in their homes during the holy month of Ramadan. In the central province of Kayseri, volunteers from the KYM have been distributing iftar meal to the families in five neighborhoods which received great appreciation.

President Erdoğan envies the Hizmet according to prominent columnist

Subsequent to the corruption probe the AK Party had denied the charges, blaming the Hizmet movement accusing it of orchestrating the probe. “This is when the antagonizing rhetoric started,” according to Alkan. President Erdoğan has in fact openly vowed to bring down the movement and anyone it perceives as being affiliated with it.

Turks Fleeing To Greece Find Mostly Warm Welcome, Despite History

Now, at least 1,000 Turkish citizens are seeking refuge in Greece, according to the refugee support nonprofit SolidarityNOW. It’s hard to pin down an exact number because not many have applied for asylum, says Antonis Spathis, a human rights lawyer in Thessaloniki. The Greek Asylum Service told NPR that 186 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in 2016 and noted there has been a “significant” increase in 2017.

Report: Gülen-linked media outlets sold to pro-gov’t media groups without tender

A number of TV and radio stations that were closed down by the government in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15 due to their links to the faith-based Gülen movement have been sold to the pro-government Turkuvaz Media Group without a tender.

Fethullah Gulen, the [Gulen] community, and the prep schools

It is no secret that my bonds of affection with the wise religious leader Fethullah Gulen and his movement go back more than twenty years. I trust that Hocaefendi, with his endless sense of fairness, is aware of this situation. He feels offended firstly because the government signed the National Security Council’s brief without hesitation, and secondly because it has profiled [both him and the movement]. In any case, resisting the closure of the movement’s prep schools is the same as resisting an authoritarian course of events!

Police officers become victims of torture in Turkey

The families of several Turkish police officers, rounded up as part of the crackdown on the Gulen community, have sought help from human rights activists in a rare example of willingness to speak out on torture allegations that have been rife since the coup attempt last year.

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

Gülen files criminal complaint over illegal wiretapping

91-year-old philanthropist targeted in witch-hunt operation in Erzurum passes away

55 students from 30 countries captivate İzmir residents with poems of praise

Kimse Yok Mu opens education complex in Kenya

Prof. Nanda: Extraditing Fethullah Gulen to Turkey would erode the rule of law

‘Latest developments increased recognition of Hizmet Movement globally’

Thousands in anti-corruption protests; Erdoğan defiant

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News