Turkey Continues Its Witch Hunt Against Gülen Followers
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.
The Turkish government, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has pointed the finger at Fethullah Gülen – also known as leader of the Hizmet movement – as the mastermind behind Friday’s attempted coup by the country’s military. But who is Gülen? We take a look at the Islamic cleric and how he has affected Erdoğan’s presidency
PM Erdoğan widens hostile stance to include more and more groups
Erdoğan has been trying to dodge the damaging impact of the corruption scandals by using Hizmet as a scapegoat. Gülen, an ardent supporter of transparency and accountability in government, was critical of Erdoğan government’s efforts to stall the corruption investigations. Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Gülen said that the massive corruption investigations that have shaken the government cannot be covered up no matter how hard the government tries to derail the probes — not even by blaming the scandal on what the prime minister has called the “parallel state,” a veiled reference to the Hizmet movement inspired by Gülen.
Report reveals repercussions of AK Party fight against Gülen movement in Africa
A report released by the prestigious London-based think tank Chatham House has praised the efforts of the faith-based Gülen movement in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), saying that it has been a major driving force of Turkey’s engagement in the region; however, it has warned that the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) ongoing battle against the movement may hamper further Turkish presence there.
Turkish Woman, Arrested During Husband’s Funeral, Separated From Son
Esra Celik whose husband died during medical surgery was arrested by the Turkish police during the funeral ceremony as part of the post-coup crackdown on government opponents.
Ergun Poyraz to pay compensation for slandering Fethullah Gulen in his book
AYŞENUR PARILDAK Ergun Poyraz, defendant detainee of Ergenekon Trial, was fined for violating the rights of Fethullah Gulen, in his book “The Imam in America”. With the lawsuit that is filed by Orhan Erdemli, Gulen’s lawyer, Poyraz Publishing and Bizim Avrasya Publishing were sentenced to a total of 5 thousand Turkish Liras compensation. In Ergun […]
PM Erdoğan calls on his supporters to boycott [Hizmet’s] prep schools
Calling on his supporters to boycott prep schools, Erdoğan took another swipe at the Hizmet movement, which, according to him, pulled the trigger of the recent corruption operation.However, lawyer of Fethullah Gülen denied any involvement in the recent graft probe, strongly rejected any link to the case.
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