Fethullah Gulen: Killing of Russian envoy ‘heinous act’


Date posted: December 19, 2016

U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen on Monday condemned the assassination of Russia’s ambassador to Turkey as a “heinous act of terror” and urged the Turkish government to identify anyone who aided the gunman.

Gulen’s written statement was issued after one of his advisers strongly denied allegations by an unnamed senior Turkish security official of “very strong signs” that the gunman who killed the ambassador belonged to Gulen’s movement.

Ankara has accused the cleric of instigating a failed coup in July and has cracked down on thousands of people it suspects of links to the Turkish Muslim cleric. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies any involvement.

“I condemn in the strongest terms this heinous act of terror,” Gulen said. “Turkish and international experts repeatedly have pointed out the deterioration of security and counter-terrorism efforts due to the Turkish government’s assigning hundreds of counter-terrorism police officers to unrelated posts, as well as the firing and imprisoning many others since 2014.”

(Reporting By Matt Spetalnick; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Source: Reuters , December 19, 2016

Tags: | | | | |


Related News

Top Three Reasons Why Turkey’s President Erdogan is Obsessed with Gulen

Why is the president of a country of 75 million so obsessed with pursuing a retired preacher who has been living in the U.S. since 1999? There are three main reasons for Erdogan’s obsession with Gulen: First, a desire to cover up massive and systemic corruption; second, the need for control over civic leaders and third, his need for a scapegoat to blame the country’s troubles and justify his authoritarian drive.

Lawyer of arrested officers detained for Gülen movement propaganda

Lawyer Kemal Uçar, known for his critical statements concerning July 15, 2016 coup attempt cases, has been detained as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, Milliyet daily reported. Uçar used to share messages on social media that the ByLock mobile phone app cannot be used as evidence to arrest people. Uçar said on a TV program that 52 of 58 casings found in Taksim on the coup night were not fired by soldiers according to an official report.

Germany: Turkish Intel’s spy list may be deliberate provocation

Germany’s interior minister said Thursday that Turkey’s intelligence agency may have given its German counterpart a list of suspected supporters of a U.S.-based cleric to “provoke us in some way.”

Portrait of the Gülen Brotherhood, sworn enemy of Turkey’s President Erdogan

Some are answered by a confidential document produced by the European Union Intelligence and Situation Centre (INTCEN). Nevertheless, its authors feel that the Gülen movement is not behind the coup attempt. There is no evidence that the army (…) and the Gülenists (…) had had any intention to cooperate in overthrowing Erdogan, they say.

Gulen, a Secret Cardinal?

The Turkish government needs to understand that this kind of crazy makes it much less likely that the U.S. will extradite Gulen. His lawyers can point to this kind of demented paranoia as evidence that the Turkish justice system can’t be trusted to give him a fair trial. Most U.S. judges are likely to agree.

Main opposition CHP says received no message from Fethullah Gülen

ANKARA The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has once more stated that its dialogue with the Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen movement had no difference from the dialogue that it has with other different segments of the society. “No message has been conveyed to us from Pennsylvania,” CHP Deputy Chair Faruk Loğoğlu said on Dec. […]

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

Did PKK change its view of religious movements?

Turkish Human Rights Violations Put Under Microscope

Critics say Turkish government using US mosques to play politics, spy on foes

Leaked document sheds light on Turkey’s controlled ‘coup’

Turkey’s counter-terrorism campaign [against Hizmet] discredited

TUSKON: Media raids discourage foreign investors

Democracy tree grows in Abant as Turks and Kurds bond

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News