Fethullah Gülen’s Lawyers: Gülen Movement Has No Link With Zarrab Case In US


Date posted: November 29, 2017

The lawyers of US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen said on Tuesday that the Gülen movement has no link to the case of Iranian-Turkish businessman Reza Zarrab in the US.

In a statement from @fgulenav Twitter account on Tuesday, Gülen’s lawyers has said that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government under the rule of Turkish autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and news reports in the pro-Erdoğan media aim at associating the Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab case carried out by the US Federal Judiciary to the Gülen movement.

Gülen’s lawyers said that “Gülen movement is a civic movement that embraces universal human values and the rule of law, and its sole attitude regarding the judicial process in Turkey or any country in the world, is demanding a trial according to the Universal Declaration and the European Convention on Human Rights. Apart from that, there cannot be any expectation or request.”

Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader whose prosecution in Manhattan has drawn sharp criticism from President Erdoğan, has pleaded guilty and has been cooperating with the American authorities, a federal prosecutor disclosed in court on Tuesday, according to a report by the New York Times.

Zarrab was the prime suspect in a major corruption investigation, which had also incriminated the his cabinet ministers and President Erdoğan’s family members, became public in December 17/25, 2013.  Turkish prosecutors accused Zarrab and high-ranking Turkish officials of involvement in facilitating Iranian money transfers via gold smuggling, leaked documents at the time showed.

President Erdoğan, then prime minister, cast that investigation as a coup attempt orchestrated by his political enemies. Several Turkish prosecutors were removed from the case, police investigators were reassigned, and the investigation was later dropped.

However, 9 people including Zarrab, Turkey’s Halkbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla, Turkish Economy Minister Mehmet Zafer Çağlayan and former Halkbank General Manager Süleyman Aslan have been criminally charged with conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran in the case in New York.

Source: Stockholm Center for Freedom , November 28, 2017

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Henri Barkey: Why Is Turkey Accusing Me of Plotting a Coup?

Soon after the coup was defeated, my colleagues and I became the targets of sensationalist conspiracy theories promulgated by Turkey’s pro-government press. The accusations ranged from organizing the coup on behalf of the C.I.A. to setting up communication links for the plotters and, most implausibly, bringing a convicted murderer from California into Turkey to engage in evil deeds.

Islam’s internal enemies

Caliph Omar, who is renowned for his attention to justice, paid a visit to sacred sites after taking over control of Jerusalem from Governor Sophronius. He visited Masjid al Aqsa and later also wanted to see the Church of Resurrection where, according to Christian belief, Jesus was crucified and prepared for burial. Sophronius, who was walking with Omar, recalled that he performed prayers everywhere he visited and asked him to do the same at the church. Omar rejected the request saying, “If I perform prayer here, Muslims will build a mosque on this very spot.” Instead he found an empty area to the south of the church for prayer, upon which Muslims thereafter erected a mosque named after Omar.

Gülen ‘speechless’ on gov’t action plan against Hizmet movement

Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen has described himself as “speechless” and expressed his disappointment about a National Security Council (MGK) decision in 2004 signed by the government and recommending an action plan against Hizmet movement. A secret national security document recently discovered by the Taraf daily has revealed that Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK […]

Prime Minister Erdogan’s Revenge

Mr. Erdogan has disparaged his political adversaries as traitors, terrorists and an alliance of evil. In his postelection speech, he repeatedly mentioned Pennsylvania and suggested the government would take aim at Mr. Gulen’s supporters, possibly with mass arrests.

Turkish schools behind Turkey’s soft power in Middle East

2 May 2012 / MİNHAC ÇELİK, İSTANBUL Marco Padovan, Italian businessman and a member of the Turkish-Italian Trade and Cooperation Association, said during a round table meeting held in İstanbul on Wednesday that Turkish schools play a crucial role in the increase of Turkey’s soft power in the Middle East and North Africa. Speaking during […]

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.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

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

In Case You Missed It

Kimse Yok Mu officials hand out aid with flashlights in rain

Who are these pro-Erdogan mobs who even beheaded a soldier?

Turkey: Erdogan’s macabre dance in Africa

Tunisian scholar Ghannouchi: Gülen promotes ‘noble Islam’

Where is Turkey going? (2)

When Iconic Islamic scholar wins prestigious peace award

Erdoğan calls for expanded witch hunt against Gülen followers

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News