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.
Professor Ahmed al-Tayyib, the rector of al-Azhar University in Egypt, who believes the Gülen movement and al-Azhar University are of the same mind regarding the balance between secularism and religion, said the Gülen movement is a true representative of Islam because it adopts a moderate approach. “Today, there are many movements having a religious basis; however, most of them serve the interests of a sect, a community or a political purpose,” he told.
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