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

Tags: | |


Related News

Turkish nationals in Bangladesh living in fear

In a recent press conference, Ambassador Devrim Öztürk claimed that some Turkish nationals in Dhaka, in particular those working at the Turkish Hope School, were involved with what he called the Gülenist Terror Organisation (FETÖ). Foreign Ministry officials who spoke to the Dhaka Tribune said they saw the ambassador’s request as a violation of diplomatic norms.

Turkish business suffers under Erdogan’s post-coup Gulen purge

Critics of the ruling AKP expect it to sell Gulen-linked companies to government allies in the business world at a large discount. In mid-October the AKP-linked Metro Holding applied to the TMSF to acquire all of Koza Ipek Holding’s shares. Akin Ipek, the fugitive former owner of the conglomerate, asked on Twitter how Koza Ipek’s $600 million in cash and $20 billion in mining assets could be acquired by a comparatively unimpressive entity. Metro Holding’s capital comes to just over $95 million.

Toward a constitutional crisis [in Turkey]

If the government continues to give the impression that it is trying to stop the biggest-ever corruption investigation in the country, Gezi may repeat itself. It is clear that this may harm not only the AK Party, but also the Hizmet movement and Turkey. Only the AK Party can stop this from taking place by convincing people that it is not interfering with the judiciary and that it is fully against corruption.

Advisor’s claim has potential to accelerate AK Party’s downfall

Amid a deepening high-profile corruption scandal that has seriously damaged the government’s reputation, a claim made by a senior advisor to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has the potential to bring the military back to the political scene, carrying the risk of accelerating his party’s downfall from power.

Sacked Turkish professor applies to employment organization

As the government has launched a sweeping campaign to eliminate any employees, be they public servants or academics, that it suspects of having links with Hizmet from state institutions, Özsoy said the purge is not restricted to state universities. It now includes private universities, too.

EU lends support to mosque-cemevi project

The European Union, which has been closely following the rights of Alevis in Turkey for years, has lent its support to a mosque-cemevi project to be built in Ankara. The European Commission said it supported dialogue that led to mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence, calling these principles the “hallmark of the EU.” Peter Stano, the spokesperson […]

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

‘I see the Hizmet movement as the best expression of Islam’

Public ad budget unfairly allocated to pro-gov’t media

Nigerian federal gov’t on arrested students: Turkey on a vendetta mission

Academic Thought Platform holds first of its ‘Capital Gatherings’

AK Party’s Islamism

Ban Ki-moon (UN Secretary General) sent a message to IFLC

Discrimination by AKP government [against Hizmet movement]

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News