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

Turkey harshly criticized by panel in US over press freedom

The government’s recent crackdown on the media was severely criticized during a panel discussion at the National Press Club (NPC) in Washington, D.C.

Governor’s office closes 3 Gülen-inspired prep schools in Çorum

Despite a ruling from the Constitutional Court and the Council of State annulling a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government-sponsored law that required privately owned exam preparation schools in Turkey to be closed down or converted, the Çorum Governor’s Office has ordered the closure of three prep schools as part of the government-led operation against institutions and businesses owned by the faith-based Gülen movement.

Nigeria’s House of Representatives wants Turkey to know that Nigerian lives matter

Nigerian students in Turkey say that the Turkish government has declared a war on them and that they feel targeted, therefore they stay in hiding for fear of being arrested or deported. “We are scared of leaving our rooms for fear of being arrested and charged with terrorism, or deported. There is a man-hunt for Nigerian students in Turkey,” a student told The Cable.

27-Years-Old Mother With 11-Months-Old Son Found In Ankara’s Sincan Prison

Yağmur Balcı, a 27-years-old mother, who disappeared together with his 11-months-old son in a Trabzon Prison, has been found in Sincan Prison in Ankara on Monday morning. Turkey’s Republican People’s Party deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu has announced that Yağmur Balcı and his son was transferred to Sincan Women Prison in Ankara without giving any information to her lawyer and her family.

Enes Kanter calls Turkey’s Erdoğan ‘Hitler of our century’ after airport detainment

Oklahoma City Thunder center Enes Kanter expressed his desire to become a US citizen and underscored a previous claim that Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the “Hitler of our century” on Monday in New York in his first comments since his detainment at a Romanian airport over the weekend.

TUSKON to sue dailies over disputed land reports

Leading Turkish business group, the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) said on Thursday it will soon file lawsuits against certain government dailies which published allegations of irregularities regarding disputed land in İstanbul.

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

Thousands congregate in New York to share iftar joy

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

Fountain Magazine announces essay contest winners

Turkish-Arab forum focuses on gov’t oppression on Hizmet

EP condemns media crackdown in name of rule of law, press freedom

More emphasis should be given to improving students’ functional skills

Iftar at Afghan-Turkish Schools

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News