Pilot who flew Erdoğan on coup night fired from Turkish Airlines over Gülen links


Date posted: July 14, 2017

Barış Yurtseven, the pilot of the plane that brought Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from Dalaman to İstanbul on the night of a failed military coup attempt last July, was fired from Turkish Airlines (THY) in February over alleged links to the Gülen movement, the Doğan news agency reported on Thursday.

According to Doğan, Yurtseven’s dismissal from THY came to light when he recently applied for a job at another airline.

Yurtseven had been unable to pass a security check carried out by THY because he deposited money in Bank Asya, which was confiscated by the Turkish government due to its links to the Gülen movement following the coup attempt and because he left the transponder on, allowing the plane carrying Erdoğan to be tracked online on the night of the coup attempt.

Transponders, radio transmitters used to identify and locate aircraft, are normally supposed to be on, but they were required to be turned off out of security concerns during the coup attempt.

Pilot Yurtseven, who worked for THY for 20 years, said he deposited money in Bank Asya to pay for his child’s tuition and that he had no affiliation with the Gülen movement.

While no links between Yurtseven and the movement were discovered, he was fired from his job in February.

According to an earlier report in the Posta daily, Erdoğan asked the two pilots in the plane before takeoff whether they were on his side. The pilots were reported to have said: “We are on your side till the end. We will do whatever is necessary to take you and your family to your destination. We will die together if necessary.”

The military coup attempt on July 15 killed over 240 people. Immediately after the putsch, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government along with Erdoğan pinned the blame on the Gülen movement.

Fethullah Gülen, who inspired the movement, strongly denied having any role in the failed coup and called for an international investigation into it, but President Erdoğan — calling the coup attempt “a gift from God” — and the government initiated a widespread purge aimed at cleansing sympathizers of the movement from within state institutions, dehumanizing its popular figures and putting participants of the Gülen movement in jails.

According to a statement from Turkey’s Justice Ministry on July 13, a total of 50,510 people have been arrested while 169,013 others have been the subject of legal proceedings since the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016 on coup charges.

 

Source: Turkish Minute , July 13, 2017


Related News

Fethullah Gulen: Turkey’s Eroding Democracy (op-ed in NY Times)

It is deeply disappointing to see what has become of Turkey in the last few years. Not long ago, it was the envy of Muslim-majority countries: a viable candidate for the European Union on its path to becoming a functioning democracy that upholds universal human rights, gender equality, the rule of law and the rights of Kurdish and non-Muslim citizens.

Proof of the ‘parallel state’

Referring to a news story that appeared in the pro-government media about unfounded allegations about the police, Bülent Arınç, the second man in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), had said, “A dignified person should not speak without evidence.” Arınç’s words are now being used by opposition parties to criticize the prime minister.

Turkish intelligence abducts Gülen-linked expats in Malaysia: relatives

With the government praising Malaysia over its alleged deportation of three Turkish citizens due to their links to the Gülen movement, recent tips from relatives stated that they were in fact abducted by Turkish intelligence officers.

Turkey crackdown: Gulen sympathizers abroad are feeling the heat

Turkey’s relentless pursuit of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen’s supporters during the past four months – both at home and abroad – has now resulted in Turkish military personnel serving at NATO bases seeking asylum, fearing persecution if they return home.

Turks Fleeing To Greece Find Mostly Warm Welcome, Despite History

Now, at least 1,000 Turkish citizens are seeking refuge in Greece, according to the refugee support nonprofit SolidarityNOW. It’s hard to pin down an exact number because not many have applied for asylum, says Antonis Spathis, a human rights lawyer in Thessaloniki. The Greek Asylum Service told NPR that 186 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in 2016 and noted there has been a “significant” increase in 2017.

Current defamation campaign against Hizmet was part of Ergenekon scheme

A major campaign launched by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and media organs to defame and discredit the Hizmet movement was among the plans of the Ergenekon network, which once attempted a coup d’état against the AK Party.

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

US says it does not consider Gülen movement a terror organization

US court gives Gülen 21 days to present his defense

Turkish people’s aid reaches out to Chad through Kimse Yok Mu

Call for Papers – International Conference on “Indo-Turkish Dialogue: Historical, Social and Cultural Perspectives”

An International Conference on “Philanthropy and Peacebuilding”

Kimse Yok Mu distributes meat with foreign volunteers in Indonesia

Dismissed after coup attempt, teacher detained during visit to imprisoned relative

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News