GYV president Usak passes away in exile


Date posted: August 26, 2016

A renowned intellectual, journalist and president of the Journalists’ and Writers’ Foundation (GYV) Cemal Usak, who was among the targets of the Turkish government’s ongoing crackdown on the faith based Gulen movement, has passed away at the age of 63 while in exile.

Usak had been receiving cancer treatment for the past several years.

An arrest warrant was issued for Usak along with several other figures of the Gulen movement late in 2015 due to their links to the movement, which the government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labels as a “terrorist organization.”

In a farewell message he posted from his Twitter account last month, Usak said he was going through his final days and his future depends on “God”s extra favors.” Usak also asked for his friends’ blessings.

According to an article penned by columnist Nazif Apak last month in the now closed Yeni Hayat daily, Usak contacted with Turkish authorities and told them he wants to live his final days in Turkey but the authorities threatened to arrest him if he ever comes to Turkey.

They reportedly told him that he would die in prison if he comes to Turkey.

Usak was a member of the wise people’s commission established by the government in 2013 as part of a settlement process with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Usak was also a classmate of President Erdogan from Imam Hatip High School in Istanbul.

GYV was among the civil society organizations that were closed down by a government decree following a failed coup attempt on July 15 which the government accuses the Gulen movement of masterminding.

Source: Turkish Minute , August 25, 2016

Tags: | |


Related News

The Hizmet movement and external forces

Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi and the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) make statements on behalf of the Hizmet movement. Even the GYV’s statements can hardly be considered as binding for every individual who is inspired by the Hizmet movement and who participates in different projects in a different manner as the Hizmet movement does not have a central organization or membership mechanism.

Gülen says paying price for not supporting Erdoğan’s desire for presidential system

“Mr Erdoğan put pressure on me and Hizmet sympathizers to publicly support his idea of a presidential system. He increased the pressure by supporting government-funded alternatives to Hizmet institutions and then began threatening to close them down,” Gülen stated in a written interview with Nahal Toosi, which was published on Friday. According to Gülen, Hizmet sympathizers are paying a heavy price for their independence.

Imprisoned Gülen followers subject to rape, nail extraction, object insertion: lawyers association

People imprisoned as part of a government crackdown on the Gülen movement are being systematically tortured in the most barbaric ways including rape, removal of nails and the insertion of objects into their anuses, according to the president of a leading lawyers association.

Gülen urges Turkey to preserve, advance achievements in democratization

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has called for the preservation and advancement of the country’s achievements in democratization, describing this as “crucial.” In an interview with The Atlantic magazine, Gülen said Turkey’s ongoing relationship with the European Union is partly to be commended for the level of democratization Turkey has achieved so far.

Erdoğan’s accusation that Hizmet organized the coup attempt is noxious and absurd

The name of that “terrorist organization” was not spoken, but Ökem was referring to the so-called Fethullahçı Terör Örgütü. To the rest of the world, it’s the Hizmet movement founded by Fethullah Gülen, a former close and important ally of Erdoğan. No one else sees it as violent. Erdoğan’s accusation that it organized the coup attempt is noxious and absurd.

Bank Asya seeks immediate return of ‘hijacked’ management rights

Turkey’s largest Islamic lender, Bank Asya, is demanding that the state-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) return the bank’s rights to control its management following strong indications that the fund’s decision on Tuesday to take over control of the lender’s board has no legal basis and is politically motivated.

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

US court gives Gülen 21 days to present his defense

Gülen interview received high praise from intellectuals, NGOs, politicians

Counterterrorism judge found to be PM’s strong supporter

Fethullah Gulen talks to major international media on Turkey coup attempt

Gülen’s lawyer asks MİT whether it wiretapped client’s phone

The Dutch Turkish community must speak out about the anti-Gülen violence

A Match Made in Hell: The Budding Bromance of Trump and Erdogan

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News