Turkey Continues Its Witch Hunt Against Gülen Followers

Photos of the individuals arrested and detained. Source: Turkish Minute.
Photos of the individuals arrested and detained. Source: Turkish Minute.


Date posted: September 3, 2016

MICHAEL VAN DER GALIEN

The purges continue unabated in Turkey. On Friday, 218 individuals were arrested on charges of being members of a terrorist organization. Another 421 were detained.

These arrests and detentions took place more than 6 weeks after the Turkish military staged a failed coup. In the meantime, not only the military officers responsible for the coup have been arrested, but the same goes for many others: people who had absolutely nothing to do with the coup, but who are simply accused of sympathizing with Fethullah Gülen, the Islamic scholar Turkey says masterminded the coup.

In what’s becoming a repetitive story, a host of journalists, lawyers, teachers and civil servants were among those arrested by the authorities.

All in all, more than 41,000 people have been detained in recent weeks, and more than 22,000 individuals were arrested. According to the latest reports, a sum total of 130,000 people have lost their jobs.

Source: PJ Media , SEPTEMBER 3, 2016


Related News

Nigerian daily: Turkey at risk of becoming polarised because of Erdogan

It was on record that President Erdoğan became increasingly disturbed by all kinds of criticism after the Gezi Park protests that developed into anti-government demonstrations in the summer of 2013. The government felt seriously threatened by the nationwide protests caused by Erdoğan’s insulting language towards all dissidents.

What ‘struggle for power’? [Between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the Fethullah Gülen movement ]

A “Fethullahist” parallel state is a conspiracy theory par excellence, exploited by secular as well as Islamist fundamentalists and particularly by the Erdoğan government which vindicates once again the dictum that “power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Turkey, The great purge – Four lives upturned by Erdogan’s ‘cleansing.’ Episode 2 – Mehmet

Following the July 15, 2016, coup attempt, Erdogan promised to “cleanse” Turkey of a “virus” that has plagued its state institutions. That cleansing has been primarily directed at two organisations: the PKK and the Gulen movement. But the crackdown on both organisations began long before the July coup attempt.

Islamic scholar Gülen sues interior minister over coup accusation

“Making efforts to set people up against one another and stir hostility by expressing those words is a behavior morally unacceptable,” lawyer Nurullah Albayrak said.

A rift between the Hizmet movement and the AK Party?

BÜLENT KENEŞ June 14, 2012 For some time, Turkey has been obsessively talking about an alleged contention between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Hizmet movement (aka Gulen Movement). This matter is being discussed in dozens of newspaper columns and TV programs every day. The Hizmet movement’s demands are about principles. These […]

Why should education in Pakistan be held hostage to the politics of other countries, however brotherly?

If Pakistan does indeed give in to pressure from the Turkish government, the move will be ironic, given the number of madressahs currently operating in the country with established links to political, religious or denominational movements that have a more than suspected record of terrorism, violence and spurious religious indoctrination.

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

Secular Pakistanis resist Turkey’s ‘authoritarian’ demands

Turkish newspaper ‘Zaman’ shuts down in Germany amid ‘threats’

Sareshwala: Agitation and confrontation doesn’t get Muslims anywhere

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Fethullah Gulen

Kyrgyz President Atambayev: Ankara should not threaten us with coup

Love is A Verb – forthcoming documentary on the Gülen Movement

Qur’anic Reciters of Nigeria Raise Alarm Over Turkey’s Espionage

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News