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

Couple jailed for watching Fethullah Gülen videos at Internet cafe

An Ankara couple has been sent to prison after they were caught watching videos belonging to US-based Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen at an internet cafe earlier this week.

A Shared Struggle: Muslim and Jewish fasters break it together

Francesca Norsen Tate, Religion Editor Brooklyn’s Jewish and Muslim communities have used a common fasting day to build stronger bonds between them. Last Tuesday, July 16, Jews observed Tisha B’Av, the saddest day of the Hebrew calendar which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples and is a strict fast day. Meanwhile, until Aug. […]

Will the military take up arms against Gülen supporters?

In modern states, again, elected governments will be the final authority to decide about external threat perceptions after compiling input from related institutions, including the military.

AK Party gov’t violates rule of law with mass profiling of civil servants

Profiling by the government — which a senior member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) admitted to over Twitter — of some 2,000 senior public officials including police chiefs, prosecutors and judges as well as academics, journalists and business people is a violation of the constitution, analysts have said.

Turkey has not achieved enough democratization for Fethullah Gülen’s return

Kenan Taş Mustafa Yesil: “The possible tension between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Gülen movement is what the pro-guardianship figures desire most. Moreover, it should be recalled how satisfied they were during the constitutional and presidential election crises in 2007 and the AK Party closure case in 2008. Turkey is passing […]

Former Norwegian PM: Our center takes same approach as Gülen

KADİR UYSALOĞLU, OSLO Former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik has said the ideas of Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish-Muslim scholar, and the activities of his movement are in complete harmony with the approach of The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, which Bondevik currently heads. Bondevik yesterday paid a visit to the En Verden i […]

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

Despite obstacles, Kimse Yok Mu delivers aid to thousands worldwide

Student from Pak-Turk school to represent Pakistan

Mandela and Gülen by İbrahim Özdemir *

Peace Islands Institute Honors Remarkable Individuals

New York Times interviews Mr. Gulen

CHP: Anti-Hizmet ops were part of agreement between Erdoğan, military

The Middle Eastern voice of Europe — Natacha Atlas

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News