AfSV Statement on the Turkish government’s detainment of Kutbettin Gülen


Date posted: October 8, 2016

Alliance for Shared Values issued the following statement on the Turkish government’s detainment of Kutbettin Gülen

News of the detention of Kutbettin Gülen, the brother of Fethullah Gülen, is as unsurprising as it is troubling, and it is yet the latest example of the Turkish government’s persecution of innocent citizens in the wake of the July 15 coup attempt. Kutbettin Gülen, like tens of thousands of others in Turkey, has been detained on trumped-up charges used by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration to silence dissent and cement his autocratic hold on power. Just in the last few days, Erdoğan extended the country’s state of emergency, issued arrest warrants for more than 100 citizens and suspended more than 12,000 police officers, adding to a total of more than 100,000 innocent people systematically detained, jailed or purged.

 About the Alliance for Shared Values

The Alliance for Shared Values (AFSV) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves as a voice for dialogue organizations affiliated with Hizmet, a civil society movement inspired by prominent preacher and peace advocate Fethullah Gülen. Based in New York, the Alliance strives to promote peace and to eliminate prejudice and discrimination against any or all ethnic, cultural and religious communities. To learn more about the Alliance please visit www.afsv.org.

About Fethullah Gülen

Fethullah Gülen is an Islamic scholar, preacher and social advocate, whose decades‐long commitment to interfaith tolerance and altruism has inspired millions in Turkey and around the world. Gülen is the honorary chairman of the Rumi Forum, Washington, DC; the Intercultural Dialogue Platform, Brussels, Belgium; and the Foundation of Journalists and Writers, Istanbul, Turkey.

-For legal inquiries, please contact:

Jason Weinstein

Steptoe & Johnson LLP

202-429-8061

jweinstein@Steptoe.com

-For all other inquiries, please contact:

Dr. Y. Alp Aslandogan

Alliance for Shared Values

212-682-4278

media@afsv.org

Source: Alliance for Shared Values , October 4, 2016

Tags: | | | |


Related News

German state minister: Persecuted Turks can apply for asylum in Germany

“Germany is an outward-looking country and is open to all those who are politically persecuted as a matter of principle,” Roth said. “They can apply for asylum in Germany. That applies not just to journalists.” Roth also spoke out against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown against opposition lawmakers and critical journalists and academics.

Toward a party state

At this point, the only thing Erdoğan can do is manufacture false charges and evidence against the Hizmet movement, which wouldn’t be persuasive. In a normal democratic state where the rule of law is cherished, there must be concrete evidence to press charges against anyone, and those so charged are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. In a party state, however, imaginary charges are first voiced and then meddlesome public authorities manufacture crimes and criminals to fit those charges.

Erdogan Delivers Ultimatum: Washington Has to Choose Between Gulen and Turkey

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United States must make a choice between Ankara and a movement led by US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Ankara has accused Gulen and his followers of playing a key role in the July 15 attempted coup, which claimed lives of over 240 people.

In Greece, Turks tell of lives full of fear in Recep Erdogan’s Turkey

Dominika Spyratou of the Greek NGO SolidarityNow, which provides assistance to refugees, says that more than 1,000 Turkish citizens came to Greece seeking asylum after the July 2016 failed coup, while almost 300 Turkish families are now in Thessaloniki.

Islamic scholar gave Buddhist point to ponder

Sanitsuda Ekachai 21/06/2012 I have just returned from Turkey, one of the world’s most beautiful countries. What has stayed deeply in my mind, however, is not the country’s picture-perfect postcard beauty, but its people, its modern take on Islam and a host of questions for my own country. During the visit, we, a group of […]

Fethullah Gulen denies ties to attempted coup in Turkey

As a wave of violence washed over Turkey, President Erdogan pointed the finger of blame to Fethullah Gulen. In a rare interview with CNN’s

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

Ex-AK Party deputy Özdalga: Gov’t wants to make judiciary subordinate to executive power

Turkish Repression Targets Americans

Police waiting at hospital to detain Kayseri woman after childbirth

Astonishing questions about the failed coup attempt in Turkey

War on Gulen Movement undermines Turkish diplomacy

OSCE: Excessive penalties threaten journalism in Turkey

Kimse Yok Mu officials hand out aid with flashlights in rain

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News