Has Turkey arrested Christian to exchange for Fethullah Gülen?


Date posted: December 15, 2016

Eliana Benador

Turkey’s Erdogan regime has arrested an American pastor whom they could use in a possible exchange for the Turkish Muslim cleric they want to extradite from the United States.

The Muslim Fethullah Gülen is accused by the Erdogan regime to be the mastermind behind the latest failed-military-coup intending to depose the president.

Pastor Brunson and his wife, Norine, were detained on October 7, under Interior Ministry deportation orders.

However, his wife was released on October 19 and received an extended permit to remain in the country.

Norine Brunson overlooking Izmir’s Harmandanli Detention Centre, where her husband is detained. Photo: World Watch Monitor

Norine Brunson overlooking Izmir’s Harmandanli Detention Centre, where her husband is detained. Photo: World Watch Monitor

Meanwhile, the pastor was transferred overnight on 8 Dec. to a counter-terrorism center, before being brought before an Izmir court for interrogation.

64 days after his arrest on October 7, on December 9, a Turkish judge sent Rev. Andrew Brunson to prison at the Harmandali Detention Centre on the northern edge of Izmir.

Brunson’s lawyer has confirmed that the court document released at the hearing charged her US client with “membership in an armed terrorist organization”. The judge specifically mentioned allegations that the pastor had links with the Fethullah Gulen movement, which is accused by Ankara of instigating a failed military coup against the Turkish government on 15 July.

Fethullah Gülen

In September 2016, Turkey requested U.S. authorities to detain the Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Fethullah Gülen of masterminding a failed coup that killed at least 271 people in July this year, according to the state Anadolu news agency.

Mr. Gülen emphatically denies any wrongdoing and maintains that he is opposed to violence.

In fact, he assures that charges against him are part of a political vendetta that started in 2013 after his supporters started investigating and publishing corruption allegations against Turkish politicians close to the president.

After the so-called coup, Erdogan’s rage was such, that he promoted incarcerations of ten thousand troops, maintaining them in concentration camps, with almost no food or water, and the thousands of men being systematically raped.

turkish-soldiers

Initially, no human rights organization decried the crimes against humanity committed by the Erdogan regime at that point.

Finally,  Amnesty International alerted that there was “credible evidence Turkish police are holding detainees, denying them food, water, and medical treatment and in worst cases, severely beaten and tortured.

During months, many of the 10,000 detainees have been kept locked up in horses’ stables and sports halls – some hogtied in horrific stress positions, according to human rights campaigners.

Credible sources report that Turkish troops imprisoned after the failed military coup are being raped, starved and left without water for days.

Up until now, we don’t know what has been the final fate of those Turkish men.

Conclusion

While Muslims are unconditionally welcome with open arms in the West, where they never intend to adopt local mores, exactly the opposite happens to Christians in the world of Islam.

Surely, the Brunson couple has lived in Turkey for roughly 20 years, but did not stop authorities from accusing Reverend Brunson of aiding and abetting terrorism.

For his part, Gülen maintains he and his movement are not for violence.  It could be true.

But, don’t all Muslims say Islam is the religion of peace?

All Muslims, that is, except their terrorists. Indeed, the religion of peace.

Always remember, the 19 terrorists who prepared and trained for the massacres of 9/11, ALL were “moderate” until the left their homes to fulfill their macaber mission.

Whom you choose to believe, is at your own risk.

The bottom line may be that with Brunson, now Turks have a good piece to exchange for Fethullah Gülen, should they not receive him before President Obama finishes his term.

Nothing dealing with Islam is unplanned.  The sooner Westerners and Americans, in particular, realize that the better it will be.

Source: ELIANA BENADOR , December 15, 2016


Related News

Arınç says Gülen’s offer to hand over prep schools ‘sacrifice’

Turkish Deputy PM Bülent Arınç has described the offer of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen to hand over prep school management to the state an example of “sacrifice” and promised that the issue of prep schools will be resolved in a way that pleases everyone. “God knows that we don’t have an ambition to manage [these prep schools]; our desire is that these services don’t become the causalities of a disagreement,” Gülen reportedly said.

Enes Kanter: “I’m getting death threats almost every day”

Appearing on “CBS This Morning” Monday, Kanter said the trouble began while he was in Indonesia: “I was sleeping around 2:30 or something and my manager knocked on my door. He said the Secret Service and the Indonesian army were looking for me because the Turkish government told them I was a dangerous man.

Failure of political Islamists in Turkey

Gülen’s unwavering stand against Erdoğan’s cycle of corrupt power despite pressure, threats and intimidation has already exposed how much damage political Islamists have dealt to the religion of Islam as well as the Turkish nation. The appeal of politically exploited Islamist ideology has lost its shine and its strength has been diluted or broken during Erdoğan’s version 2.0 regime.

Turkey’s Changing Freedom Deficit

Erdoğan’s government is by no means the first to compel Turkish citizens to hide their preferences and beliefs. Under the secular governments that ruled Turkey from the 1920s to 1950, and to some extent until 2002, pious Turks seeking advancement in government, the military, and even commerce had to downplay their religiosity and avoid signaling approval of political Islam.

Will Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Allow Kidnappings In His Country?

The recent politically motivated kidnapping incidents backed by the Turkish authorities which targeted the followers of Gulen movement in Malaysia raise serious questions about the standards of the rule of law, civil liberties, the individual rights and quality of the political system of Malaysia.

Turkish authorities unlawfully arrest woman with twin babies over alleged Gülen links

Turkish authorities yesterday arrested Merve Hande Kayış, the mother of three children including 13-month-old twins, for alleged links to the Gülen movement in violation of the country’s laws.

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

Commemorations for former President Özal, supporter of Turkish schools abroad

HRW to Turkey: Investigate Ankara abductions, disappearances

IFJ representative denied permission to visit journalist Karaca in prison

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

Suspicious Deaths And Suicides On The Rise In Turkey With 54 People In Last 8 Months

Afghan minister: Afghanistan will continue to support Turkish schools

Gülen’s ideas address the entire world

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News