Journalist Karaca sentenced to 31 years for slandering al-Qaeda-affiliated group


Date posted: November 3, 2017

Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca has been sentenced to 31 years in prison by an Istanbul court on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and for allegedly slandering the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Tahşiyeciler, Habertürk reported on Friday.

According to the report, former police chief Ali Fuat Yılmazer was sentenced to 16 years, six months, while former chiefs of police Yurt Atayün, Ömer Köse and Tufan Ergüder received a sentence of 25 years, six months each by the court in the same case.

In an operation on Dec. 14, 2014, former Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı, Karaca and a number of soap opera scriptwriters and police officers were detained on charges of terrorism and membership in an organization that conspired against Tahşiyeciler based on a speech by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen in 2009 in which the scholar warned against a group that “might” be called Tahşiyeciler and whose leader, Mehmet Doğan, had publicly praised Osama bin Laden.

The prosecutors who ordered the Dec. 14 detentions claim that following Gülen’s speech, Dumanlı ordered two columnists to write about Tahşiyeciler and that he published a news report on the speech. The allegations also claim that Samanyolu TV made implications about the group in an episode of a soap opera it broadcast. It was further claimed that the police then “unfairly” raided the group.

Previous reports by police intelligence, military intelligence and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) had described Tahşiyeciler as a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda.

In a 2009 live broadcast on CNN Türk TV, the leader of the Tahşiyeciler group stated that he liked former al-Qaeda head Osama bin Laden.

On May 23, 2016 Mustafa Kaplan, a complainant in the case, admitted having written a book that praises suicide bombers.

The lawyers for the defendants asked Kaplan if a book titled “Reddül Evham” was written by him and he agreed that the book was his. Then the lawyers asked if he supported suicide bombers as the book does, and Kaplan answered, “I support whatever the book says.”

The lawyers reminded the court that the book says it is permissible for a suicide bomber to blow himself up even if there is a Muslim child in the area where he detonates himself.

In June 2016, Robert Mariani, United States judge for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, dropped a case against Gülen, stating that there were no grounds for the claims brought to the court by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The AKP had hired Amsterdam & Partners to have Gülen prosecuted in the US, claiming that members of a group called Tahşiyeciler in Turkey were unlawfully arrested in the past due to Gülen’s influence within the Turkish police force.

According to news agencies, Judge Mariani found the Turkish government’s allegations “coincidental and baseless.”

 

Source: Turkish Minute , November 3, 2017


Related News

Arınç calls Gülen’s extradition request a ‘political move’

Speaking to journalists following the Cabinet meeting on Monday, Arınç added that he does not know how US would react to this political request. Admitting that there is no legal base for Gülen’s extradition, the deputy prime minister said that without the necessary documents, evidence and a court order, it is not possible to get someone extradited from a country.

RTÜK fines Samanyolu for news about boy named after Gülen

The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) fined Samanyolu TV on Sunday for running a news story about a student named Fethullah Gülen who prepared for the Transition to Higher Education Examination (YGS) with the Hizmet-affiliated Körfez University Preparation School in İzmir. RTÜK said broadcasting the name of a student along with the school’s name […]

Abant Platform “Africa: Between Experience And Inspiration” Final Declaration

– We, the participants of the 29th Abant Platform Forum on “Africa: Between Experience and Inspiration”, held at Abant/Turkey on 28-30 June 2013, hereby, welcome the initiative of Journalists and Writers Foundation/Abant Platform, for a long and lasting partnership, based on mutual respect, goodwill, compassion and understanding between the Peoples of Africa and the People […]

Dozens take to Parliament Hill to protest Turkish human rights violations

Dozens of protesters packed the steps of Parliament Hill Saturday to draw attention to human rights violations against women and children in Turkey, in the wake of last summer’s failed coup.

Zaman Editor-in-Chief: Turkish government no longer democratic

Ekrem Dumanlı was arrested on December 14, part of a series of coordinated raids by Turkish authorities against a number of prominent media figures, all facing charges of belonging to a terrorist “parallel organization.” The organization in question? Fethullah Gülen’s outlawed Hizmet movement.

Gülen’s lawyer likens hate campaign against his client to Nazi era

Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s attorney Nurullah Albayrak said the smear campaign targeting his client to marginalize him has peaked, stressing that the hate speech Gülen has been subjected to for months is comparable to Nazi era discriminatory practices.

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

Turkish school staff among 230 more evacuated from Yemen

‘Hizmet is a social movement worldwide, that has a heart, and it’s always from the heart.’

Turkish aid organizations deliver clean water to 20 million

Texans experience Turkish culture by volunteering

Securitizing the Hizmet / Gulen movement

Nigerian instability not a current threat for Turkish community

Hizmet rejects claims it is linked to graft probe, says democracy is antidote to chaos

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News