US calls decision by Turkey to seize Zaman newspaper ’troubling’
US State Department Spokesperson John Kirby. (Photo: Cihan)
Date posted: March 5, 2016
REUTERS | WASHINGTON
The US State Department on Friday called the decision by Turkish authorities to seize control of the country’s largest newspaper “troubling.”
“We see this as the latest in a series of troubling judicial and law enforcement actions taken by the Turkish government targeting media outlets and others critical of it,” State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing.
Turkish authorities seized control of the Zaman newspaper on Friday at the request of an İstanbul prosecutor, state-run Anadolu Agency reported, in a widening crackdown against supporters of US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen.
CSOs slam smear campaign against Hizmet, call on PM to stop hate speech
A large-scale dark propaganda campaign has been conducted by some circles close to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government against the Hizmet movement and Gülen, particularly since a corruption scandal erupted in December of 2013 in which three Cabinet ministers’ sons, many state bureaucrats and also well-known businessmen were implicated.
Claims about TİB plot to libel Hizmet spark massive reaction
Jurists and politicians reacted harshly to a claim in an email by an anonymous whistleblower from the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB), the agency responsible for carrying out legal wiretaps, that there is a conspiracy to bring the Hizmet movement under suspicion of infiltrating TİB.
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A candidate inspector for the Ministry of Finance who learned from recent media reports that he had been profiled by the ministry on the basis of his family background has confirmed that the information disclosed by the media matches his personal information.
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Turkish president’s chief religious counsel Hayrettin Karaman, professor of Islamic law, has given approval to overlook torture and other crimes committed by members of security services, saying that Turkey is at total mobilization and under attack from within and outside.
Gülen denies attempting to axe peace process
The lawyer of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has strongly denied claims made by the former chairman of the banned pro-Kurdish Democracy Party (DEP) who alleged in a television interview Monday evening that Fethullah Gülen defames, slanders, and obstructs people who support the peace process
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The most recent example of the division is reflected at the social level. A realtor put a sign on his shop saying, “Followers of the Gülen movement are not allowed to do business in this shop.” Pro-Erdoğan journalists, instead of condemning the shop owner, thanked him. This is a typical hate crime promoted by Erdoğan and his close associates.
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