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

Gülen calls on followers to adapt to PM’s teaching center closures

“If they close your homes, you should open dorms. If they close your dorms, you will open new homes. If they close your schools, you will respond by opening a university. And when they close your university, you should open ten schools. You should never stop marching,” Gülen said in a video that was posted at Herkül.org, a website close to the movement.

Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) at center of political storm

Indeed, the MIT’s tarnished reputation can be viewed as collateral damage from the AKP’s wars with former allies (the Gulen movement) or an unintended consequence of the government’s haphazard propaganda since Gezi. The agency is seen as the nexus of the initial friction between the Gulen movement and the AKP.

Kyrgyz President Atambayev: Turkish schools will not be closed

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said on Thursday he is thankful to Erdoğan, he does not know Fethullah Gülen, and he will not close the schools run by Turks close to the Gülen movement, Sputnik reported.

Police and inspectors raid Gülen-inspired kindergarten in Manisa

Police and inspectors from several government departments have carried out further raids on Gülen-inspired schools, including a kindergarten in Manisa, as part of a government-led operation targeting the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement, influenced by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

Final Declaration of “Coexistence in Islamic Civilizations and Contemporary Reviews” Conference

In this century when “Alienation” has become a global and local syndrome of every society and the problems of “inability to coexist” have gained momentum, The Journalists and Writers Foundation Inter Cultural Dialogue Platform (IDP) and the Fatih University Civilizations Research and Application Center (CRAC) co-organized the “Coexistence in Islamic Civilization and Contemporary Reviews” International […]

Gülen Schools and Rule-of-Law in Turkey

Whatever one’s attitude toward or assessment of Fethullah Gülen might be, the case of the preparatory schools is a barometer for the state of rule-of-law in Turkey. Gülen’s ideology is irrelevant; law should treat everyone equally.

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

Detainee says was pushed to make accusations about Gülen movement

Police raid Gülen-inspired prep schools in Erzurum

Scholars at Abant Meeting call for EU negotiations, domestic reform

Should the Hizmet movement form a political party?

Pakistan admits they secretly deported Turkish family wanted by Erdogan govt

Kanter: I was excluded from Turkey squad due to my beliefs

New Jersey’s Peace Islands Institute Holds Iftar At Community Center

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News