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

Turkey’s Curious Coup in 6 Questions

A year after the Turkey’s coup attempt, there are still many questions that need to be considered. Ismail Sezgin of Hizmet Studies, in this video, summarizes the findings that makes the coup attempt so curious and the positions of the Turkish Government, Gulen Movement, and Turkey’s Western allies. 

Turkish gov’t profiling went on until 2013, report claims

The Turkish government profiled a large number of individuals whom it believed to be followers of certain religious and faith-based groups and monitored their activities up until 2013, a Turkish daily reported on Monday. According to the report, the profiling of individuals did not end in 2010 as previously claimed, but it continued between 2011 […]

World’s oldest temple closed to visitors due to excavation team links with Gülen

Gobekli Tepe, the world’s oldest temple at more than 11,000 years, has been closed to visitors for 15 months due to alleged links of the excavation team leader and sub-contractor to the faith-based Gülen movement.

Financial Times: Turkey’s crackdown on dissent has gone too far

More troubling is evidence emerging that his government is now using the attempted coup as a pretext to round up all manner of troublesome opponents, not just the Gulenists. It is also damaging the fabric of Turkish society and undermining its institutions, including the security forces. That is a dangerous move in a country whose immune system is already weakened by jihadism and which is battling armed opponents on several fronts.

81-year-old man sentenced to 10 years in jail over Gulen link

Mustafa Türk, an 81-year-old Turkish who has been under arrest over a year, was sentenced to 10 years in jail on charges of membership to a terrorist organization.

Der Spiegel’s recent strange attack on the Hizmet (Gulen) Movement

Ihsan Yilmaz  August 9, 2012 Der Spiegel has published a piece about the Hizmet (Gülen) movement. Unfortunately, the piece does not look like a work of journalism. The wording, selection of so-called experts, and most importantly distortions, misleading points and false information make the piece very problematic. The piece starts with a claim that “Gülen […]

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

Erdogan’s bid to close Gulen schools in Africa opposed

Retired ambassadors slam government orders over graft probe

My husband is being tortured and I am worried about his life

Turkish opposition: Enquiry against Gülen politically motivated

Mother detained over Gülen links while twins left in intensive care

Hate speech and its impact on the movement (1)

Kosovo’s Parliament To Probe Deportation Of Six Turks

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News