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

Is Hizmet being subjected to genocide? (2)

In a recently leaked voice recording, which was not denied by those involved in it, Erdoğan’s son, Bilal, tells his father that an operation should be launched against the Hizmet movement. All these incidents indicate that the ruling party has used and will use laws in accordance with Erdoğan’s plans. Thus, a group cannot be destroyed solely with mass killings. It can be destroyed also with unfair and unlawful practices by passing specific laws, as we saw in many cases in the past.

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

Yusuf Özmen, a cancer patient who has been sentenced to 8 years, 9 months in prison due to his alleged links to the Gülen movement, has recently been sent back to prison after the supreme court of appeals upheld the prison sentence.

Turkey ‘looking for scapegoats’ by linking schools in Nigeria to failed coup

Speaking with TheCable in an interview on Friday, Cemal Yigit, spokesman of NTIC, said Gulen does not own the Turkish schools in Nigeria, and that the schools are the property of private investors – some of them Nigerians. He said that the Turkish government was on a purge of the opposition in Turkey, and that it was trying to decimate any organisation that shared the philosophy of Gulen by tagging them terrorists.

Romania Refuses to Extradite Journalist to Turkey

The Bucharest Appeal Court on Friday rejected a Turkish request to extradite a Turkish journalist, Kamil Demirkaya, known for his criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government.

Pundits: plans to close down Turkish schools abroad arbitrary, political vandalism

Turkish intellectuals are increasingly voicing concerns about the government attempt to close down the Turkish schools that provide an education to thousands of students abroad, saying the move is personally motivated and unwise.

TUSKON says systematic campaign of defamation is under way

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists’ (TUSKON) has criticized what it said a systematic campaign of defamation against the business conglomolarete, stressing that its business activities that help contribute to Turkish economy should only be welcomed.

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

Zaman Editor-in-Chief Dumanlı faces probe over ‘insult’ to Erdoğan in news report

Boat carrying Turkish asylum seekers capsizes off Greece, killing 3 children and 3 others

Norway reports 409 Turkish asylum seekers in past 18 months

Turkish doctors leave country to volunteer at Uganda’s Nile hospital

Zaman launches satirical magazine, defying pressure with humor

Newly-released journo offers insider view at victims of Turkey Purge

Dinners in Ramadan tent welcome all faiths in Bethlehem

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News