72-year-old Turkish man detained over coup charges
Date posted: September 21, 2016
A total of 12 people, among them a 72-year-old Turkish man, were detained as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak on Monday.
The elderly man, known by initials H.A., was brought to the court for testimony by the help of gendarmerie officers with a stick on his hand.
Detainees were reportedly suspected of having used ByLock, a smartphone messaging application or what Turkish prosecutors calls the top communication tool among the members of the movement. Apart from suspected of the Bylock use, H.A. is allegedly accused of being the representative of the movement in a village in Zonguldak.
Gülen movement has been accused of masterminding the coup attempt on July 15 despite its successive statements that denied any involvement. Failing to back up its accusations with credible evidence, the government has detained more than 40,000 people and arrested 24,000 over their alleged links to the coup attempt since July 15.
Yet, looking at the data in several recent surveys, including the AKP’s internal polling, the public does not seem to be buying the conspiracy theories any more, against the background of overwhelming evidence indicating massive wrongdoing in the government. The rushed decision by Erdoğan to reassign thousands of police officers and hundreds of prosecutors and judges as well as introducing controversial bills to reign in the judiciary have all reinforced the perception that Erdoğan and his people are deeply involved in corruption.
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The Gulen movement is primarily a civil society organization, consisting of thousands of teachers, academics, journalists, businessmen and charitable workers. A political attack against their legitimate services and institutions would be disastrous for rule of law and societal peace, both of which have already been seriously compromised in Turkey.
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