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

Mesut Kacmaz – the abducted Turkish teacher

The name is a subject itself; he is a benefactor of Pakistan, a friend of our people, and one of the thousands of Turkish teachers who have lived in our country and taught tens of thousands of children over the past several decades.

Erdogan in Africa: Gulen and trade ties

Erdogan wants the Gulen-linked schools in Africa to be closed down, yet they are the very educational establishments which are popular with Africa’s middle class. They are an inexpensive alternative to French schools. If parents send their children to Turkish schools, it is not because the schools are Turkish, but because they employ good teachers. Africa’s middle class want good schools.

EU calls on Turkey to Investigate abduction cases targeting Gülen Movement

The European Union (EU) on Thursday said it was closely following developments in Turkey including the abductions of people from the Gülen movement, reminding Ankara of its responsibility to investigate these reported cases.

Erdogan’s endless legitimacy crisis

Erdogan, who is avoiding dealing with the corruption charges, cannot preserve his government on the dead-end street he has entered.

German state minister: Persecuted Turks can apply for asylum in Germany

“Germany is an outward-looking country and is open to all those who are politically persecuted as a matter of principle,” Roth said. “They can apply for asylum in Germany. That applies not just to journalists.” Roth also spoke out against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s crackdown against opposition lawmakers and critical journalists and academics.

Turkey’s Post-Coup Purge and Erdogan’s Private Army

A year later, Western intelligence officials and top Turkey analysts aren’t nearly so sure of Gulen’s complicity. Earlier this year, German spy chief Bruno Kahl revealed that Ankara has failed to convince the BND foreign intelligence agency that Gulen was behind the ill-planned and executed coup plot. “Turkey has tried to convince us of that at every level, but so far it has not succeeded,” Kahl told the German weekly Der Spiegel in March.

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

Book Review — Fethullah Gülen: A Life of Hizmet

Gülen: The Ambiguous Politics of Market Islam in Turkey and the World

What is lacking in democratization package is democracy itself

Uplifting Orphans in Moldova

Sultan of Zing: Erdogan’s power trip makes African pit stop

TİB conspired to libel Hizmet, tampered with system logs

The letter that united America

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News