Calgary man accused of helping plot Turkish coup


Date posted: July 25, 2016

Brodie Thomas

Family and friends of a Calgary imam who has been detained in Turkey say they are worried for his safety as well as that of his wife and two children.

Davud Hanci is being detained by police in Turkey. Local media reports accuse him of helping with an unsuccessful coup attempt on July 15.

Ruveyda Durmus, Hanci’s sister-in-law, said Turkish media have reported he arrived on July 13 when in fact he arrived there July 7 to see his ailing father.

Hanci had brought his wife, Rumeysa, and their two sons, aged 9 and 8, to see his father one final time. Durmus said her sister and the two children are not being detained at the moment, but they are afraid.

“I am trying to get help from the Canadian government,” said Durmus. “They told me because he has dual citizenship, it’s complicated.”

The Canadian government has offered assistance in getting Hanci’s family back to Canada, but they are hesitant to leave without Hanci.

“We are so worried,” said Durmus. “We cannot go to Turkey — they might arrest us too.”

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has accused an exiled religious leader named Fethullah Gulen of organizing the coup. Gulen resides in Pennsylvania, where he runs a retreat centre devoted to spreading the word of the Hizmet Movement.

Turkish media reports are painting Hanci as a right-hand-man to Gulen, but Malik Muradov, executive director of the Intercultural Dialogue Institute of Calgary, said there’s no truth to those reports.

“He has nothing to do with the coup, nor would he approve of it,” said Muradov.

He said a photo that reportedly shows Hanci with Gulen is not actually Hanci.

Hanci works as an imam for Corrections Canada and Alberta Government Correctional Services, according to Muradov, who added that he also volunteers much of his time to the Turkish community.

Muradov said he personally has been to Gulen’s retreat centre for workshops, and that the Hizmet Movement is about promoting education, interfaith dialogue, and peace.

Muradov said while Hanci undoubtedly is familiar with Gulen, it is unlikely that Gulen would know Hanci.

Source: Calgary Metro News , July 24, 2016


Related News

‘Mission impossible’ for Turkey’s ambassadors

Erdogan has placed an extremely heavy burden on Turkey’s ambassadors. The same ambassadors for many years have been under instructions to promote the schools and activities of the Gulen movement as Turkey’s “biggest and most effective lobbying operation” and to support them.

GYV lashes out at ‘traitor’ label for attending EU ambassadors meeting

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), in a written statement, has denounced some media outlets’ labeling the body a “traitor” over its attendance at the traditional lunch meeting of the EU ambassadors. The statement criticized the allegations published in some media outlets which “in an effort to distort the truth and smear the foundation” said the GYV betrayed the country by attending such a meeting.

American students volunteer for Kimse Yok Mu aid campaign

American members of international Kimse Yok Mu charity organization distributed aid boxes during the holy month of Ramadan in different parts of İstanbul.

Academics, civil society call for freer, more diverse universities in new law

BURAK KILIÇ / HASAN KARALI, İSTANBUL Participants of a meeting hosted by the Zaman daily have called on the Higher Education Board (YÖK) to grant universities broader freedoms instead of the existing centralized structure under a new YÖK Law. The current YÖK Law is considered outdated and carries traces of former coups as it was […]

Alleged Hizmet link in Hablemitoğlu murder a lie, says widow

The wife of murdered academic Necip Hablemitoğlu has said a recent attempt to establish a connection between the assassination of her husband and the Hizmet movement is an effort to turn her against the movement.

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.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

PA State Rep. Margo Davidson reflects on her visit to Turkish refugees in Greece

This man stood up to Trump. In Turkey he was branded a terrorist

Is there anybody there for Kimse Yok Mu?

Greater Jakarta: Students, parents protest Embassy’s statement

Turks Fleeing a Crackdown Find Haven in Albania

AK Party deputy Hakan Şükür against closure of prep schools

Woman miscarries twins after arrest, struggles for her life in prison

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News