Wife of Calgary imam held in Turkey on coup allegations, says he still has no lawyer

Davud Hanci, in white shirt at right, hosts MP Michelle Rempel at his family home in Calgary.
Davud Hanci, in white shirt at right, hosts MP Michelle Rempel at his family home in Calgary.


Date posted: September 7, 2016

CBC News

PM Trudeau spoke to Turkish officials about Hanci; family getting updates from Canadian government.

The wife of a Calgary imam being held in prison near Istanbul, Turkey says she was pleased to hear that Prime Minister Trudeau recently spoke to Turkish officials about the matter.

He was arrested in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt earlier this summer, which prompted officials to round up and detain some 35,000 people.

More than 17,000 of them have been formally arrested to face trial, including soldiers, police, judges and journalists.

Rumeysa Hanci says her husband Davud had nothing to do with the attempt to overthrow the government. She says the family is still trying to get a lawyer for him.

“I am so upset. Like, my husband was detained, you know, wrongfully and, like, he doesn’t deserve to be there,” she said.

There is no word on how Turkish officials reacted to Trudeau bringing up the matter at a side meeting in Hangzhou, China, where he was taking part in the G20 summit.

Hanci says the family has had limited contact with her husband, but she did get a letter from him on the weekend.

“He says he’s OK and he’s worrying about us because he didn’t hear from us, too,” she said.

‘I want him to come home very soon’

It has been reported that he is suspected by Turkish officials of having ties to the Hizmet movement, also known as the Gulen movement, which is described as a global network based on the teachings of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, a critic and former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey alleges that Gulen orchestrated the failed July 15 military coup. Gulen has repeatedly denied the claims.

Hanci, who works as an imam for Correctional Service Canada and the Alberta correctional services, went to Turkey with his family on July 7 to visit his ailing father.

Rumeysa Hanci and the couple’s two young sons were allowed to leave Turkey early last month. The three of them are currently staying with family in Ontario.

Rumeysa says she’s hopeful Trudeau’s meeting with Turkish officials will help her husband’s case.

The family says it has been receiving updates from the Canadian government since he was detained.

They’re also appealing for help from human rights organizations.

“I want him to come home very soon,” Hanci said.

Source: CBC News , September 6, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

What is going on in Turkey? Who is Fethullah Gülen?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the president of Turkey, a NATO member nation that hosts our nuclear weapons. Evidence indicates he’s an Islamist. Erdogan’s fundamentalist convictions led to persecution of Fethullah Gülen whi has been compared to Gandhi, Luther, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr., but Erdogan accuses him of launching the recent military coup. Gülen is a scholar and man of the cloth.

A time for sacrifice

The sacrificial festival has many social aspects to it: it is all about charity, community and family, as well as the pilgrimage. During this holiday, people visit their relatives and friends; family ties are strengthened, and it gives children an opportunity to bond with the older generation. The sacrificial festival is a time for wishing one another well, exchanging gifts, having big feasts, donating and praying.

Gülen’s lawyer warns about possible doctored tapes

Lawyer Nurullah Albayrak in a written statement referred to lies and defamation about Gülen in the media which have become widespread and said Gülen’s phone calls have been illegally wiretapped. “These calls are reported in the media without taking any ethical principles into consideration,” he said, adding that it is very likely there will be edited phone calls as part of a black propaganda campaign against Gülen.

Turkey’s Erdoğan Regime Extends Post-Coup Witch Hunt Targeting Gülen Followers Abroad

Turkey, under the autocratic rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has stepped up its witch hunt against the alleged members of Gülen movement abroad, pro-Erdoğan English paper Daily Sabah reported. So far, 16 alleged Gülen followers have been abducted or caught abroad and transferred to Turkey from Asian, Middle Eastern countries and Bulgaria.

Who is the winner?

The Gülen community is a movement of volunteers. The real reason for the row is not the community’s attempt to meddle in politics. It is due to its sheer size and public image. As he did with other groups or communities, Erdoğan sought to take full control of the Hizmet movement in an effort to consolidate his power. Following the defeat of the military tutelage, the government saw a convergence of power. However, the Hizmet movement was not a piece of cake which it could swallow easily. The government had previously purged itself of many bureaucrats who are close to the community.

Turks Should Question The Official Narrative That Gulen Was Behind The Coup

I am not trying to absolve one side or the other. The coup attempt was a heinous assault on Turkey’s civilian politics and the plotters must be punished in a fashion that deters similar actions in the future. What I am trying to understand is why everyone agrees that Gulenists did it when there is little evidence and that is even questionable.

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

Brussels, Paris and Berlin

Taiwanese scholar: Hizmet movement wins hearts with education, charity

Zaman Editor-in-Chief: Turkish government no longer democratic

Ambassadors uneasy over Erdoğan’s orders concerning graft probe

Turkish school opens in Canada

Turkish schools important for northern Iraq’s future

Media freedom in Turkey takes another blow

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News