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

AK Party’s social media instructions to ministries raise questions of legality

The Taraf daily reported on the written instructions sent in an email to social media coordinators at government ministries by the AK Party’s media coordinator, Burak Gültekin. The email read as follows: “Dear ministry social media coordinator, Attached please see a note on prep schools…” The attachment included templates for tweets some of which include content teasing the Hizmet movement and the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Gulen blasts ‘despicable’ 2016 Turkey coup bid, subsequent ‘witch hunt’

US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, the man blamed by Turkey for a failed coup attempt a year ago, on Friday again denied any involvement in what he called a “despicable putsch,” and called on Ankara to end its “witch hunt” of his followers.

US-based think tank says Gülen movement progressive in terms of pro-Kurdish reforms

A US-based think tank has released a report stating that the Gülen (Hizmet) movement, a grassroots civil society organization that has frequently accused government officials of obstructing the settlement negotiations between the government and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has a progressive attitude regarding pro-Kurdish reforms.

Turkish PM Yıldırım names July 15 coup attempt as ‘project’ he did not like

In remarks that fueled suspicions even further that the Turkish government was involved in a failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Thursday that July 15 was a “project” he did not like or approve of.

Was prime minister able to convince the EU?

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan makes all of his political reinforcement in the judicial system. He uses all his political power, charisma and charm to block the corruption probes. For this reason, instead of convincing the EU, he tries to secure a temporary peace so that he can finish his job.

Diverging points between AKP and Hizmet movement: Kurdish question

The fundamental difference Popp observed is that while the government has been trying to persuade the PKK to lay down its guns, the Gulen movement goes one step further and works to remove the social and cultural problems that caused the Kurdish problem.

Latest News

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

After Reunion: A Quiet Transformation Within the Hizmet Movement

Erdogan’s Failed Crusade: The World Rejects His War on Hizmet

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

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu gives away Eid al-Adha meat in Mali

Prime minister’s inconsistencies raise eyebrows

Iqbal university to be set up in Lahore

Pakistan Today Editorial: The Turkish connection and Turkish schools

How come a 25 days old BABY could be a THREAT to the national security?

Turkey seizes another baklava maker over coup charges, appoints deputy governor as caretaker

Couple offering wedding feast to Syrian refugees surprised by feedback

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News