Netherlands fires a lawyer from gov’t job due to her role in witch hunt against Gulen followers


Date posted: May 1, 2018

A Turkish lawyer working for the Dutch government was kicked off her job due to her active role in massive post-coup witch hunt targeting the alleged followers of the Gülen movement in the Netherlands.

It was reported that Turkish lawyer Şükran İnce has became the chairperson of the Aid to Turkish Families Commission which was established in the aftermath the controversial coup attempt on July 15, 2016 in Turkey. İnce reportedly played an active role especially to discourage Turkish families to send their children to the schools operated by Turkish businessmen allegedly affiliated with the Gülen movement.

It was reported by pro-government Turkish media that she played a dominant role in removal of 459 students studying in schools associated with the movement in the Netherlands. However, she was dismissed from her government job by the Dutch government because of a photo she shared with Turkish Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and her ongoing role in massive witch hunt campaign targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.

Pro-government Turkish-Islamist daily Milat pointed to an article published in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant on July 3, 2016, with the headline “This is the lawyer behind the evacuation of the Gülen schools,” which described İnce as a person in whom Erdoğan had trust and who was engaging in a smear campaign against Gülen schools.’’

The same paper on Sept. 15, 2016 accused İnce, who spoke numbers of time to Turkey’s state-run TRT and Anadolu news agency against the Gülen movement to smear them, of provoking Turks against Gülen sympathisers. İnce has since lost her job, Milat reported.

The Netherlands-Turkey relations took a turn for the worse in March of 2017 when Turkish efforts to hold political rallies on Dutch territory caused a stir, leading Dutch authorities to place travel restrictions on Turkish officials looking to campaign on the Turkish constitutional referendum.

During a Turkish referendum campaign in 2017 to amend the constitution and change the system of governance from a parliamentary to a presidential system, the Netherlands refused to allow Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu’s plane to land in the country. Family and Social Policy Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya in response went from Germany to Rotterdam by car to hold a rally and was declared persona non grata and escorted by police out of the Netherlands.

There are around 400,000 Turkish citizens living in the Netherlands.

The Stockholm Center for Freedom (SCF) has released a report on February 27, 2017 titled “Erdoğan’s Long Arm in Europe: The Case of the Netherlands” and exposed Turkish government profiling, harassment activities in Netherlands which led to physical assaults and arson attempts against Turkish President’s critics.

The Turkish government sees Fethullah Gülen as Turkey’s autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main rival and blames the cleric for the failed coup. Gülen (a.k.a. Hizmet) movement is inspired by the US-based Turkish Muslim intellectual Fethullah Gülen who has been advocating science education, interfaith and intercultural dialogue and community contribution.

Gülen has been a vocal critic of Turkish government and autocratic President Erdoğan on massive corruption in the government as well as Turkey’s aiding and abetting of radical groups in Syria. Erdoğan launched an unprecedented persecution against Gülen and his followers in December 2013 right after major corruption probe that incriminated Erdoğan’s family members.

 

 

 

Source: Stockholm Center for Freedom , May 1, 2018


Related News

60-year old man covers 309 km in 17 days to protest son’s arrest on coup charges

A 60-year-old Turkish man whose son has been kept in İstanbul Silivri Prison for over 10 months on coup charges, has walked a total of 309 km in 17 days as part of a “March of Justice.” Veysel Kılıç’s son was Air Force Academy student and arrested after July 15 coup attempt. Kılıç had been holding vigil since August 2016 in front of İstanbul Çağlayan Courthouse to protest his son’s arrest.

Gulen-inspired school raided by Turkish diplomats, Turkish soldiers in Afghanistan

A group of Turkish diplomats led by Turkish Consul General Şevki Seçkin Alpay together with dozens of Turkish soldiers and Afghan military police officers raided an Afghan-Turk school in Mazar-e Sharif, northern Afghanistan, on Tuesday.

Islamabad High Court: No plan to close Pak-Turk schools

The government is not going to shut down Pak-Turk schools nor it has received any request from the Turkish government for the transfer of its management to any third party. This was stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in written comments submitted to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in response to a petition filed by the management of the Pak-Turk schools.

Exiled Turks Fleeing Erdogan Find New Lives in Greece

Turks who fled the wrath of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after a failed coup against him in July, 2016 have landed in Greece seeking asylum and integrating themselves into society as many are educated professionals, unlike many refugees and migrants finding themselves locked in detention centers and camps.

Pakistan admits they secretly deported Turkish family wanted by Erdogan govt

The Pakistan government on Tuesday admitted before the Lahore High Court that it had secretly deported a Turkish family wanted by the Erdogan government, in violation of the court’s order.

Fethullah Gülen writes for Politico Europe: Muslims have a unique responsibility in fighting terror

From its founding amid the ashes of Al Qaeda in Iraq, ISIS has dealt in deception as well as death. Despite its name, ISIS represents a perversion of Islam. The group’s dress, flags and slogans cannot hide their abhorrent betrayal of the spirit of this major world faith. Denying this barbaric group a geographical base that emboldens them to claim statehood is a worthwhile goal that all Muslims should support.

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

Gülen offers more explanations of his views on continuing slander

Kimse Yok Mu offers vocational training for Kyrgyz orphans

The legacy of a professor closing down schools

Dismissed police officer dies of heart attack in German refugee camp

Reactions pour in over Turks’ controversial arrest in Malaysia as UN joins calls against extradition

Fethullah Gulen: Erdogan is not Fit to be President

Unscrupulous news reporting by Der Spiegel

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News