France sentences attacker targeting Gulenists as Turkey releases gunman in similar case


Date posted: September 20, 2016

A 28-year-old man of Turkish origin has been handed down a prison sentence of eight months and a fine of 23,000 euros by a French court after he attacked several institutions affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement in the country.

The Turkish government blames Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and his supporters for a failed coup on July 15, a charge denied by Gülen.

The man identified only by his initial as M.Y. was arrested on Aug.3 by the French police after he attacked the Gülen-affiliated Horizon Culture Center in northeastern France with a hammer in his hand. M.Y. was kept under pre-trial detention until Sept. 9 when he appeared in a court. M.Y. admitted to have taken part in six other attacks against Gülen-affiliated education and culture centers in France.

The court decided to hand down a prison sentence of eight months to M.Y. He will spend the first four months in prison while he will be released on probation for the second four months. M.Y. will be kept behind bars for three months because he already served the first month since his detention on Aug.3. M.Y. also received a fine of 23,000 euros as a compensation for the material damage he caused at the education and culture centers. M.Y. has also been banned from approaching the surroundings of the education and culture centers for a period of two years.

Meanwhile, Denizhan Vural, a Turkey-based businessman who proudly confessed to reporters that he carried out a gun attack on a store owned by an alleged follower of Gülen in Kırıkkale, was released pending trial shortly after he was detained on September 10.

“The allegation about the gun attack is true. We did our part regarding the issue,” Vural boasted of the attack before adding that he would stand by the state in its crackdown against Gülen’s followers.

In mid-August, Turkey’s consul general in Rotterdam called on people to “do their part” against Gülen followers.

The Kırıkkale attack was the latest of such incidents as the Turkish government has gradually geared up its discriminatory discourse against the Gülen movement since July 15.
Several stores across Turkey that sell books of Gülen were earlier been reported to have been looted by angry mobs.

Source: Turkey Purge , Sep 11, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Fethullah Gülen versus Ayatollah Khomeini?

Gülen will not return to a society that is expecting him as the Savior or the true representation of Turkishness or the antidote to current political failures. Although it is true that Gülen’s imminent return would cause tensions, it would only be tensions created by political interest groups which would use his presence for their […]

New constitution must bear spirit of Abant

ABANT — Turkey has long been trying to rid itself of the remnants of the Constitution of 1982, which was the product of the military coup of September 12, 1980, as it goes through a process of confronting and settling accounts with military tutelage and coups. Bülent Keneş, Sunday March 11, 2012 Almost all political […]

Prosecutor’s office launches investigation into Şahin’s claim

Şahin claimed that a high-level judge at the Supreme Court of Appeals had acted contrary to legal procedure and contacted Gülen before issuing his final verdict in the case against the businessman several years ago. “What should I do in this case?” asked the judge, according to the claims of the former justice minister. He went on to say that Gülen had allegedly told the judge to do “what justice requires.”

Erdogan’s Changing Aspirations for Somalia

Somalia has been one of the centers to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The East African country has been crumbled for long years by many inextricable catastrophes including famine, drought, militancy and instability.

Abant Africa forum: Freedom of Speech and Respect to Sacred

Abant Platform and African Union Commission are jointly organizing an International Forum titled “Freedom of Speech and Respect to Sacred” on 8-9 March, 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Sessions will be in the form of free discussions in the spirit of the Abant Platform. The program will be held at the Large Conference Hall of the African Union Commission Headquarters.

Erdoğan now at odds with once-closest ally

Those who have an interest in Turkish politics may have been a little confused for the last few weeks, observing the row between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) government and the social movement of religious scholar Fethullah Gülen, or the “Hizmet” (Service) movement as they preferred to be called. The row is over the closure of private prep schools (“dershane” in Turkish).

Latest News

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

After Reunion: A Quiet Transformation Within the Hizmet Movement

Erdogan’s Failed Crusade: The World Rejects His War on Hizmet

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

In Case You Missed It

Gulen Movement has been the driving force behind new relationships between Turkey and sub-Saharan African nations

Is Erdogan’s smile worth more than the tears of Pak-Turk students?

Fethullah Gulen Calls Crackdown ‘Dark Pages’ in History – Responses to World Affairs Council of Philadelphia

Think Twice on Turkey: Erdogan’s Purges Are a Warning to Washington

Kimse Yok Mu reaches out to 12,000 families in Palestine

British Foreign Secretary praises Turkish schools in Afghanistan

Ahmet Şık’s book and Ergenekon’s media campaign (1)

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News