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

Ekrem Dumanli: Turkey’s witch hunt against the media

Turkey’s leader for almost 12 years, Erdogan contributed to economic successes and democratic reforms during his first and second terms. However, emboldened by consecutive election victories and incompetent opposition parties, he is now leading Turkey toward one-man, one-party rule.

Dangerous and unnecessary tension

MARKAR ESAYAN Turkey has been experiencing heated tension over the prep school issue for a while. And unfortunately, the discussion was taken out of the educational context and has become a political issue. The Taraf daily, in its recent reports and with the official documents it published, argued that the Justice and Development Party (AK […]

Int’l scholars discuss ijtihad, qiyas at İstanbul symposium

Around 1,000 theologians, academics and opinion leaders from more than 100 countries gathered for a two-day symposium in İstanbul over the weekend to discuss the importance of ijtihad and qiyas in Islam.

Gülen’s lawyers refute justice minister’s statement likening Gülen to Iran’s Khomeini

Lawyers for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have said via Twitter that Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ should have provided proof to back up his statement that Gülen planned to return from the US to Turkey in a similar way to Iran’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iranian gold stars in Turkish corruption scandal

It is difficult to predict how the bribery/corruption investigation into several Turkish ministers will end. Although there are those who frame the event as a power struggle between the Fethullah Gulen movement and the government, conspiracy theories expand its dimensions to include the United States and Iran. The government is looking for US and Israeli hands in the operation because of the use of Halkbank to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Iran.

Hizmet from the Heart

That’s hizmet: freedom from fear, secure in the ultimate mercy and grace of a compassionate God, yet freedom to serve: recognizing the needs and suffering of one’s neighbors, and the strength and joy found in solidarity and community. That’s hizmet. And yet it is also the path to a meaningful, rich life — rich in the things that matter, the things that endure, the things that aren’t things.

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

Karınca Yuvası (Ant Nest) from Turkish designers to Bangladeshi orphans

TUSİAD chairman says does not see ‘parallel structure’ within state

Veteran who lost legs in PKK attack removed from civil service over Gulen links

Rainer Hermann interviews Fethullah Gulen – Do good and let it unfold

Governor asks Turkish organisation to focus on Balochistan

Hate Speech is Undermining Turkey’s Fragile Democracy

UN 59th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News