Bosnians Protest at Student’s Arrest in Turkish Crackdown


Date posted: June 6, 2018

Relatives, friends and neighbours of Selmir Masetovic, arrested in Turkey because of alleged links to the Gulenist movement, took to the streets of his hometown Gradacac to call for his release.

Around 100 Bosnians gathered on Monday in the town of Gradacac to protest about Turkey’s arrest of Selmir Masetovic, including the detained student’s relatives, friends, neighbours and the local mayor.

Masetovic, a 21-year-old student at the University of Usak, was arrested last month in the western Turkish city, accused of being part of a network led by exiled cleric Fetullah Gulen, who Ankara believes was behind the failed coup in the country in July 2016.

“My son Selmir is not a ‘Gulenist’,” his father Husein Masetovic was quoted as saying by IBNA.

“At the time of the coup in Turkey, my son was at home in Bosnia and Herzegovina and had nothing to do with the events there,” he added.

Masetovic said on Monday that his son has received legal assistance in Turkey and thanked a Bosnian businessman, who wants to remain anonymous, for agreeing to finance the student’s defence, but complained of a lack of information about the case.


Masetovic, a 21-year-old student at the University of Usak, was arrested last month in the western Turkish city, accused of being part of a network led by exiled cleric Fetullah Gulen. “At the time of the coup in Turkey, my son was at home in Bosnia and Herzegovina and had nothing to do with the events there,” his father Husein Masetovic was quoted as saying.


On Tuesday however, he told regional TV station N1 that he has now been in contact with his son by telephone.

“It is most important that we have come into contact, it is good that he is healthy,” he told N1.

He explained that his son told him that an investigation is ongoing, that he has denied any involvement in the alleged crime, and that he was not allowed to make a phone call earlier.

The mayor of Gradacac, Edis Dervisagic, visited the Masetovic family before attending Monday’s protest.

Dervisagic told media that the municipal board was convened last week and discussed ways of assisting the family.

“The municipality must find a way to help our fellow citizen Selmir Masetovic and his family. We will always be in contact with them,” Mayor Dervisagic was quoted as saying.

According to the prosecutor’s office in Usak, Masetovic was using Bylock, an encrypted messaging application which the Turkish authorities claim is utilised by Gulenists for secret conversations.

Having and using the Bylock app has been accepted by Turkish courts as evidence of being a member of Gulen’s movement. Ankara describes the movement as the ‘Fetullah Terrorist Organisaton’ or F..O.

Masetovic was among several foreign students in Turkey who were arrested.

Turkey’s pro-government Daily Sabah reported on May 28 that prosecutors believe that Gulen movement members “tricked students into buying cellphone accounts and gave them to their own members, apparently in a bid to avoid detection amid the escalated crackdown on the group after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt”.

“Fourteen students from various countries had two phone numbers each, and each one was used by the group’s members all across the country, according to prosecutors,” the newspaper said.

Gulen has denied any links to the failed coup and has asked an international commission to investigate the attempted overthrow of the government.

As well as the protesters in Gradacac on Monday, Bosnian opposition parties, NGOs and civil rights groups have also demanded that Masetovic be freed.


NOTE: This article was updated on June 5, 2018 to add that Masetovic has now been in telephone contact with his son.

 

Source: Balkan Insight , June 5, 2018


Related News

The Failed Military Coup In Turkey & The Mass Purges: A Civil Society Perspective

Both Turkish society and the world celebrated the fact that an anti-democratic intervention in the government was prevented. Turkish government has every right to pursue plotters within the law. The actions of President Erdogan’s government in the immediate aftermath of the coup, however, constitute a mass purge rather than a proper investigation.

EC official: Turkey should address issues within limits of rule of law

Turkey should deal with its problems within the confines of the rule of law and the legal instruments of democratic societies, Alexandra Cas Granje, European Commission (EC) director of enlargement, has said in reference to a recent corruption scandal and draft bill on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK).

New book examines efforts to link Gülen to every probe

A recently published book authored by journalist Nazlı Ilıcak tries to shed light on allegations that point to the faith-based Gülen movement as the driving force behind some ongoing trials in Turkey that aim to cleanse the country of anti-democratic formations. Ilıcak’s book, “Her Taşın Altında ‘The Cemaat’ mi Var?” (Is the “The Movement” behind […]

Turks Fleeing To Greece Find Mostly Warm Welcome, Despite History

Now, at least 1,000 Turkish citizens are seeking refuge in Greece, according to the refugee support nonprofit SolidarityNOW. It’s hard to pin down an exact number because not many have applied for asylum, says Antonis Spathis, a human rights lawyer in Thessaloniki. The Greek Asylum Service told NPR that 186 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in 2016 and noted there has been a “significant” increase in 2017.

Teacher tortured to death by Turkish police found innocent, reinstated to job

Teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu, who was tortured to death while in police custody in the wake of a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016 over alleged membership in the faith-based Gülen movement, was found innocent one-and-a-half years later and “reinstated” to his job.

RTÜK issues fines to intimidate Samanyolu TV

The Supreme Board of Radio and Television (RTÜK) has been harassing TV networks that it deems to be anti-government, and Samanyolu TV has become one of its major targets. The fines have mostly come following the Dec. 17, 2013 corruption operation, in which several businessmen close to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the sons of three ministers were detained over corruption charges.

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

Kimse Yok Mu did not forget Bangladeshis in Eid al-Adha

Educational unions lash out against gov’t-backed school raids

The Journalists and Writers Foundation’s suggestions for a constitution

Success stories of Kenya’s Light Academies’ beaming alumni

13 criteria Erdogan regime uses to determine Gulen supporters are terrorists

Planting Seeds of Understanding – A Buddhist View on Gulen Movement

Police pressure businessmen who sued Erdoğan over Hizmet remarks

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News