Under arrest for months, 62-year-old teacher dies of cancer in prison


Date posted: June 8, 2017

Arrested for raising donations on behalf of a Gülen movement-linked charity, 62-year-old religion and ethics teacher Hüseyin Pembe passed away after his battle with cancer in prison on June 1.

With the starting date for his imprisonment still unknown, Pembe has been under arrest in Samsun prison for at least four months.

According to Turkish media and several social media accounts, Pembe was diagnosed with cancer while he was under arrest over Gulen links. After a surgery at a hospital, he was reportedly sent back to the prison where his medical condition got worse under poor conditions and he passed away.

Pembe’s body was buried in his hometown in Kayseri province and his sister, also under arrest, was able to attend the ceremony only with gendarmeries in company, media reported.

Turkish government accuses the movement of masterminding the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and it has detained more than 120,000 people in its crackdown against the group so far.

Source: Turkey Purge , June 8, 2017


Related News

HRW: 6 Turks taken from Kosovo to Turkey face risk of torture and abuse

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, on Saturday tweeted that six Turkish nationals who were arrested by Kosovar police on Thursday and apparently spirited out of the country by Turkish intelligence later in the day would face the risk of torture and abuse in Turkey.

GYV lashes out at ‘traitor’ label for attending EU ambassadors meeting

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), in a written statement, has denounced some media outlets’ labeling the body a “traitor” over its attendance at the traditional lunch meeting of the EU ambassadors. The statement criticized the allegations published in some media outlets which “in an effort to distort the truth and smear the foundation” said the GYV betrayed the country by attending such a meeting.

Karaca’s lawyers to ask Constitutional Court to reverse detention order

Lawyers for Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca, who was arrested after government-initiated operations targeting the managers of the Zaman and Samanyolu media outlets on Dec. 14, are preparing to file an appeal with the Constitutional Court to overturn the decision to detain Karaca on Tuesday.

HAPPENING NOW: Police await outside hospital to detain woman who just gave birth

A group of police officers awaited outside of the Alanya Başkent Hospital in order to detain a woman who gave birth several hours ago, according to a tweet by former deputy Feyzi İşbaşaran. Fadime Günay, whose husband has recently been detained by police over alleged links to the Gulen movement, gave birth to a boy late on Sunday.

[Caliphate in sight] What to expect in 2014 Turkey

Well, under normal circumstances Erdoğan would get neither himself nor his government involved in what looks like plain bribery. But the situation would be completely different if the underlying assumption of the government is that Erdoğan is the de facto caliph.

NPR interviews Stephen Kinzer on graft probe and Fethullah Gulen

A corruption scandal has forced Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reshuffle his cabinet, but he is rejecting calls for his resignation. Three of his ministers have resigned because of the scandal. The situation today is being called the biggest threat yet to Erdogan’s 11 years in office. Stephen Kinzer, visiting fellow at the Watson Institute at Brown University, joins Here & Now’s Robin Young to discuss the unfolding situation in Turkey.

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

In Turkey for once-in-a-lifetime experience

Child victims to be affected by smear campaign against KYM

Islamic scholar Gülen rejects involvement with graft probe and wiretappings

Pioneer Academy of Science to Move to a New Campus

Jailed police chief’s children, aged 15 and 17, detained in new post-coup probe

Prof. Scott Alexander: Hizmet is a social movement for peace

Yamanlar College student becomes world math champion

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News