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

A Turkish couple spent their wedding day feeding 4,000 Syrian refugees

Hatice Avci, a spokesperson for aid organisation Kimse Yok Mu, told i100.co.uk that last Thursday the newlyweds donated the savings their families had put together for a party to share their wedding celebrations with the refugees living in and around the town of Kilis.

Rounding up the ISIS collaborators, in Turkey and Kurdistan

As U.S., Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish forces close in on Mosul, there is hope that the military campaign can force ISIS out of Iraqi territory. Of course, there are many questions still unresolved, for example, about how to pick up the pieces in Mosul.

Symposium concludes: Hizmet movement contributes to world peace

Professors said that Hizmet is an anti-violence group that uses education and dialogue to achieve its goals. Dr. Amidu Olalekan Sanni, Lagos State University, Nigeria: “I think the Hizmet group has been very influential in terms of human development, basically in the area of education and health. The first Hizmet university is actually based in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.”

Hakan Şükür’s resignation blamed on lack of intra-party democracy

Şükür, a former international football player, left Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party in protest against the government’s plan to shut down exam preparatory schools, revealing the intra-party divisions below the surface. The resignation came after Şükür objected to the government proposal to close these schools, which help students prepare for university and high school admission exams.

Expert’s opinion: Turkey’s Demanding Extradition Of Fethullah Gülen Is Frivolous Grandstanding

Although ordinarily I respect his cool-headedness and self-control, in hindsight I wish President Obama had been equally blunt in responding to President Erdoğan’s demands that the US extradite Fethullah Gülen. All of his demands, beginning in 2014 and vigorously renewed in the wake of the July 15 attempted coup, have been completely illegitimate and unfair.

TUSKON says systematic campaign of defamation is under way

The Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists’ (TUSKON) has criticized what it said a systematic campaign of defamation against the business conglomolarete, stressing that its business activities that help contribute to Turkish economy should only be welcomed.

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

Pak-Turk students shine at Kenya climate olympiad

AK Party criticizes Hakan Şükür’s sudden resignation

Fethullah Gulen’s Message of Condolences for Senator John McCain

Nigerian Turkish schools denies links to Turkey coup

Should the Hizmet movement form a political party?

Horrific Torture Details Emerge In Turkey’s Capital, A Lawyer Reveals

The responsibility of the Hizmet movement

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News