60-year-old Turkish villager detained after questioning gov’t coup narrative


Date posted: November 21, 2017

Murat Gulen, a 60-year-old villager and a relative of Fethullah Gulen was detained after he was revealed questioning the government’s narrative over the July 15, 2016 coup attempt during a video interview by the pro-government Ihlas News Agency.

On Thursday, Ihlas published the video recording, filmed in Fethullah Gulen’s hometown of Korucuk village, and media reported the same day that Gulen was taken into police custody for questioning.

Turkish government accuses the Gulen movement of masterminding the failed takeover while the latter denies involvement. More than 130,000 were held in custody and some 60,000 of them were remanded in pretrial detention over Gulen ties so far.

Evidence of Gulen links include depositing money into the movement-affliated, now-defunct Bank Asya, as mentioned by the villager during the interview.

Many were earlier targeted for raising question marks over the government’s narrative.

Source: Turkey Purge , November 16, 2017


Related News

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Erdogan’s government has made Gulenists “the enemy you ascribe to everything that goes poorly in Turkey,” according to Henri Barkey, a fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.

TÜBİTAK scolded for hiding olympiad winners were from Hizmet schools

The president and members of the government have scolded the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) for not revealing that the majority of medal winners at two recent scholastic olympiad events were students from schools affiliated with the Hizmet movement, the Taraf daily reported on Tuesday.

Turkey to Release Tens of Thousands of Prisoners to Make Room for Coup Suspects

Turkey said on Wednesday that it would empty its prisons of tens of thousands of criminals to make room for the wave of journalists, teachers, lawyers and judges rounded up in connection with last month’s failed coup.

Action plan put into operation against Hizmet, indictment reveals

The Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, which was exposed by the Taraf daily in 2009, details a military plan to destroy the image of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and faith-based Hizmet (Gülen) movement in the eyes of the public, play down the Ergenekon investigation.

Turkish Gov’t Seizes 965 Gülen Movement Affiliated Firms With $11.3 Billion Worth

Turkish Deputy PM Nurettin Canikli said on Friday that the Turkish government has seized 965 companies which were affiliated to the Gülen movement. The value of assets belonging to companies seized by the Turkish state during the ongoing state of emergency is also announced as nearly 41 billion Turkish Liras, around $11.3 billion.

Ishak Alaton: Fethullah Gülen is the most “other” in Turkey

The AK Party government, which seems to be without an alternative and lacks an equally dominant opposition to check and balance it, is in big trouble, which they are not fully aware of, says Alarko Holding Chairman İshak Alaton.

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

Malaysia also to blame for Turk’s torture, say rights groups

The Gülen Movement and human rights values in the Muslim world

Samanyolu high school ranks first in Infomatrix Asia and Pacific Olympics

Question in the aftermath of the Turkey coup – Who is Fethullah Gulen?

Gulen inspired organizations honor world youth in Washington D.C.

Victims of Turkey’s purge exploited also by lawyers with exorbitantly high fees

US Rep. Scott: Gülen movement cannot be designated as “terrorist organization”

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News