Brazil court orders release of Gulen-linked businessman accused by Ankara of terrorism


Date posted: May 9, 2019

Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ordered Tuesday the release of a Brazil-based Turkish businessman who was arrested over links to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Ali Sipahi, a restaurant owner in Sao Paulo who has lived in Brazil for 12 years, faces charges in Ankara of belonging to a “terrorist organization” involved in the failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in July 2016, Brazil’s Supreme Court said.

Sipahi, 31, holds dual Turkish and Brazilian citizenship. He has been detained since early April awaiting a court hearing scheduled for May 3.

“The decision to revoke the imprisonment of an innocent citizen was an important step, and we will evaluate the next steps in the coming days,” Theo Dias, Sipahi’s lawyer, told AFP.

Brazil has yet to respond to Turkey’s extradition request, but there is no deadline for a decision.

Sipahi, who is married and has a child, is involved in the Brazil-Turkey Cultural Center (CCBT) and Turkey-Brazil Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which are connected to Gulen’s Hizmet (Service) movement.

Dias said his client has been targeted for depositing money in Turkish bank Asya, which has been linked to Gulen.

The case has caused “huge apprehension” in Brazil’s Turkish community, amid fears Erdogan may come after them next.

The extradition request is “clearly part of the international campaign that President Erdogan unleashed against sympathizers of the Hizmet movement and its leader Gulen,” Dias added.

Gulen, who lives in self-exile in the US state of Pennsylvania, is accused of ordering the attempted overthrow of Erdogan, but he strongly denies any involvement.

Ankara calls Hizmet a terrorist group, but followers insist they are part of a peaceful organization promoting moderate Islam and education.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested by Turkey in the crackdown that followed the attempted coup, and the Turkish authorities have also brought back suspects in secret operations from foreign countries, including Ukraine and Kosovo.

Source: France 24 , May 5, 2019

Tags: | | | |


Related News

25 World Rights Groups Demand Turkey Scrap Emergency Rule

At least 25 leading international rights groups in various fields, human rights and media, have called for an end to certain measures of emergency rule in Turkey, warning against gross human rights violations and endangering the basic tenets of democracy and the rule of law.

HRW report: No evidence to accuse Gülen movement of terrorism

The Human Rights Watch’s latest world report states that there is no evidence to prove the charges of “terrorism” held against the Gülent movement, which is inspired by the teachings of prominent Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

As Turkey Gears Up to Vote, Its ‘Traitors’ Speak Out

In Turkey, a national trauma has turned into a never-ending nightmare for hundreds of thousands of citizens. Erdogan aimed to root out all Gulen sympathizers and turn them into what one local columnist called “socially dead people.” The government’s crackdown has extended well beyond the Gulenists. Leftist activists, Kurdish politicians, and dissenting academics have all been targeted.

Pro-gov’t journalist says jailed Gulenists should be forced to commit suicide

Pro-government journalist and writer Fazıl Duygun has called on authorities to force people jailed over their links to the Gulen movement to commit suicide.

Turkey- the state versus the people

Using the failed military coup attempt on July 15 as a pretext, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan orchestrated a huge purge of more than 100,000 people from the civil service without bothering to implement administrative or judicial investigations.

Afghans collect 1 million signatures to prevent seizure of Turkish schools by Erdoğan regime

Afghans have collected 1 million signatures to prevent the transfer of Turkish schools established by businessmen and operated by educators allegedly affiliated with the Gülen movement for decades in Afghanistan to Erdogan’s Maarif Foundation.

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

Formerly Gülen-linked schools in Albania face growing gov’t pressure

Faith Compatible with Science

How to Interview Fethullah Gulen

Afghan-Turkish schools awarded with “Kabul Regional Medal”

Body of Turkish woman fleeing to Greece found weeks after boat capsized

Texas Senate passes resolution commending Fethullah Gülen

Divided republic of RTE

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News