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

1,000 families provided with meat Kimse Yok Mu in Ankara

International charity organization Kimse Yok Mu distributed sacrificed meat to a total of 1,000 families during the Eid al-Adha in Ankara on Thursday. Families received meat in boxes which were paid for the donations from benevolent Turkish people at one of the offices of the KYM in Mamak district.

2-month-old denied breast milk for 17 days while under detention with mother

Put under detention with his mother at Ankara’s Sincan Prison, a two-month-old newborn had been denied access to breast milk for 17 days.

Erdogan’s Purge Stretches All The Way To Pakistan

Outside the Karachi Press Club, Turkish residents release doves as a sign of peace; 25 Turkish teachers plea for safety in Pakistan. These Turkish families have lived here for over two decades, teaching at a network of international schools led by Fethullah Gülen, a moderate Islamic cleric from Turkey, who currently lives in the US.

Time for a reality check for ISNA conventioneers – coup attempt in Turkey

Time for a reality check. This weekend many ISNA conventioneers are attending “panels” in which the so-called “Turkish delegation” will continue to attempt to justify the immoral and thoroughly un-Islamic persecution of countless innocent Muslim men and women in Turkey and around the world. While these conventioneers politely applaud the representatives of a regime which is attempting to destroy the lives of many of their fellow Turkish American Muslims right here in the US, here is just one example of what’s happening back in Turkey.

Human rights associations up in arms over deputy’s remarks on torture allegations

In an open letter to the Turkish Parliament, six Turkey-based human rights associations on Thursday criticized recent remarks of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputy Mehmet Metiner, who said the government would ignore allegations of torture and mistreatment if victims were sympathizers of the Gülen movement.

Islamic scholars convene at ijtihad symposium in İstanbul

Around 100 Islamic scholars from many parts of the world gathered at İstanbul Congress Center at ijtihad conference organized by Yeni ümit and Hira Magazines.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

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

In Case You Missed It

Commemorations for former President Özal, supporter of Turkish schools abroad

Coup attempt in Turkey puts Tulsa Turks in difficult position

Aydan Meydan from Bosna Sema School won the “Inspiring Educator Award”!

Turkic American Alliance Condemns Government Takeover of Zaman

Religious freedom threatened by Turkey’s response to coup

Minister: Turkish gov’t racks up $5 bln in confiscation of Gülen-linked properties

Turkish cleric demands fatwa to amputate hands, feet of Gülen followers

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News