Fethullah Gulen’s “old friend” detained by İzmir police despite suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s disease


Date posted: January 23, 2020

An 81-year-old Turkish man, who is known as a “longtime friend of Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, was detained by police in the Turkish province of İzmir on Monday due to his links to the Gülen group.

According to the Gulen-friendly tr724 news website, Yusuf Pekmezci, who suffers from advenced Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure and osteoporosis, was in hiding for three years.

He is currenlty being held in police custody.

Pekmezci came to public attention with a 2014 interview he gave in which he talked about his love for the movement and Fethullah Gülen.

Source: Turkey Purge , January 22, 2020


Related News

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

A new book released on October 15 says Ankara pursued a systematic campaign to erase a civic movement from public life. “The book is about the systematic and relentless persecution … to bring about their civil death,” Turkish lawyer and human‑rights advocate Coşkun Yorulmaz, co-author of the book, told Turkish Minute in an interview. “Erdoğan’s […]

Kimse Yok Mu and UN launch relief project for Syrian refugees

UN funded 3,5 million Turkish Liras (around 1,75 million USD) to the project while KYM will organize the delivery of the money to the bank accounts of 17000 Syrian refugees in amount of TL 100 throughout January and February.
Speaking about their commonly organized project with UNHCR, Head of KYM’s İstanbul office Celal Türkoğlu stated that they are frequently in touch with the UN while KYM is accredited to the UN’s Economic and Social Council.

Turkish coup attempt: who is Fethullah Gülen?

The Turkish government, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has pointed the finger at Fethullah Gülen – also known as leader of the Hizmet movement – as the mastermind behind Friday’s attempted coup by the country’s military. But who is Gülen? We take a look at the Islamic cleric and how he has affected Erdoğan’s presidency

Exclusive: Turkey, Kosovo violated fundamental rights of expelled teachers, UN body says

The UN group called on Ankara to release the six individuals immediately, and the Turkish and Kosovar governments to accord the victims an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law.

UN Human Rights: Turkey should promptly end its protracted state of emergency

Routine extensions of the state of emergency in Turkey have led to profound human rights violations against hundreds of thousands of people – from arbitrary deprivation of the right to work and to freedom of movement, to torture and other ill-treatment, arbitrary detentions and infringements of the rights to freedom of association and expression, according to a report* issued by the UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday.

Closing down prep schools and calling it ‘transformation’

BÜŞRA ERDAL, İSTANBUL Describing the government’s plan to close down the prep schools as a “transformation” is nothing more than saying, “I’m not going to say ‘close down prep schools,’ but I’m going to close them down.” The draft law in question will affect millions of students and their parents, but the debate on prep […]

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

Reps urge Federal Govt to intervene in Nigerian students’ detention in Turkey

Central West Africa shows up for TUSKON event

‘Parallel’ inspection launched against prominent Jewish-Turkish businessman İshak Alaton

Turkey’s first intercultural dialogue center built on trust, offers quality services

Hizmet Essay Contest 2014

Boston Globe: Fethullah Gulen, a US resident wanted by Turkey, must be protected

AK Party promises more despotism if it wins big in local polls

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News