Gülen calls on int’l community to pressure Turkey over rights violations


Date posted: February 16, 2018

Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has made a call to the international community, asking them to warn Turkish authorities to take the necessary measures to restore the rule of law and protect fundamental human rights in the country.

Gülen’s message came following the loss of two Turkish families, the Abdürrezzak and Doğan families, in the Maritsa River earlier this week while they were fleeing the Turkish government’s persecution of followers of the Gülen movement, which is accused by the government of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. The Abdürrezzak family had two children, while the Doğan family had one.

Gülen and the movement strongly deny any involvement in the coup attempt.

The Islamic scholar said he was devastated upon learning of the deaths of the members of the two families in the Maritsa River.

“The unprecedented witch-hunt in Turkey continues in a way leaving no opportunity for innocent people to lead decent lives. As a result of human rights violations, which have been condemned by all human rights monitoring organizations, mainly by UN rapporteurs, citizens of this country who have not committed the slightest act of evil are being obliged to leave their homeland by taking many risks,” Gülen said in his message.

Thousands of people have fled Turkey due to a massive witch-hunt launched by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government against sympathizers of the Gülen movement in the wake of the failed coup in July 2016.

Some 150,000 people have been detained, and nearly 60,000 including academics, judges, doctors, teachers, lawyers, students, policemen and others have been put in pretrial detention since the coup attempt. Meanwhile, 150,000 people have lost their jobs in the government’s post-coup purge of state institutions.

Gülen said the international community should carefully note that while Turkey boasts about hosting refugees from other countries, it puts the lives of its own citizens at risk by forcing them to take perilous journeys to leave the country.

“The international community …. should warn the Turkish authorities to ensure the restoration of law and the protection of fundamental human rights in the country,” added Gülen.

The Turkish government proudly talks about opening the country’s doors to Syrian refugees who have fled the civil war in their country, and Turkey is still hosting around 3 million refugees from Syria alone. However, thousands of Turkish people have been forced to become refugees in various countries due to the government’s ongoing witch-hunt against the Gülen movement.

 

Source: Turkish Minute , February 16, 2018


Related News

Turkey: Post-coup prisoner says threatened with rape, beaten almost to death

In the latest of firsthand letters revealing the re-emergence of torture in Turkish prisons, an Antalya arrestee reportedly said he was beaten so badly that he blacked out for some time and was also threatened with rape.

AK Party gov’t behind anti-Hizmet declaration, leaked recordings allege

A joint declaration by a number of civil society organizations to proclaim open support for the government during debates over the closure of dershanes (prep schools) was concocted by the advisors of the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and some associations were forced to lend their support, according to a number of new leaked recordings.

Prep school owners write to Constitutional Court

The Constitutional Court will review a law that seeks to shut down preparatory schools that assist students in studying for the national high school and university admission exams after organizations representing private prep schools wrote to the court, asking to make statements about the problems that might arise due to the closure of these institutions.

PKK terrorists set dorm on fire, one student injured

Terrorists from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have set fire to a dershane and its dorm that belong to the Hizmet movement in the eastern province of Muş, injuring at least one student.

Fethullah Gülen’s Statement on the Shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada

Fethullah Gülen: “I am shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic mass shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night, that resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people and the wounding of more than 500.”

28th Abant Meeting “Diverse Perspectives on Turkey” to be held in February 2013

Turkey’s foremost civil intellectual forum, Abant Platform‘s workshop on “Diverse Perspectives on Turkey,” will be held in February 8-10, 2013 in Abant, Bolu. The Abant Platform is founded as an intellectual forum by the Journalists and Writers Foundation to promote democratic engagement for expanding social consensus and the coexistence of society’s rich cultural resources within […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Should I not respond to those who want to strangle me?

‘Ekol Hoca’ center of attention on Periscope with his ’online prep school’

Kimse Yok Mu lends helping hand to Guinean families during Ramadan

Former Filipino deputy: Great that we have Kimse Yok Mu

Turkey Blessed with the Prayers of Tanzanian Orphans

Totalitarian interference in individual sphere

8-year-old cancer patient denied passport due to father’s alleged links to Turkey’s Gülen group

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News