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.
Fear and paranoia still stalk Turkey two months after the failed coup
The official government narrative is everywhere, from the Twitter accounts to the dominance of the state-affiliated and pro-government press and TV in the wake of media crackdowns. The same words and phrases have been repeated endlessly by the AKP and their supporters until they become almost meaningless – Get Gülen. Gülen. Gülen. We are democracy. Democracy. Democracy. That is how it is, and there is no room to consider anything else.
Police raid prominent journalists’ foundation GYV in Turkey
GYV’s members strongly protested the police measure. Underlining that the raid violated standard protocol, high-ranking GYV official Recep Usta expressed; “the protocol states that VGM technical teams can come to the building and conduct examinations; and should they find any violation, a period of a month is granted to us [to fix any issues].
Why does Fethullah Gülen matter to the world?
It was believed in 2016 that Erdoğan was carrying out a witch hunt to drive Hizmet into the ground so as to completely erase its history in Turkey. However, that witch hunt never seemed to stop. In fact, it continues even today. The most recent examples are Kenya and Kyrgyzstan.
33rd Abant Platform: whither Turkey?
In his speech at the opening of the first session, Prof. Seyfettin Yuksel said: “If it had been said a few years ago that we would be discussing ‘Turkey’s direction’ in the coming years, none of us would have believed it. We were sure about Turkey’s direction.” Unfortunately, nowadays Turkey’s direction is seen as uncertain, and the country has strayed not only from its foreign policy but also from democratic norms and the rule of law in its domestic policies. Here are my notes from the conference.
State Islam versus civic Islam
Using the Hizmet movement, AK party wants to create a common enemy that would be recognized as such by different social groups. It demonizes the movement and makes it a target of the social opposition. But all these tricks and methods do not eliminate one basic truth. There is an unusual experience in Turkey. There is an ongoing war between “state Islam” and “civic Islam.”
Panicky parents calmed over Feza Schools closure reports
The director assured the public that claims linking the institution to an alleged terror network were grossly untrue and a fabrication made with the intention of spoiling its image. “Our schools have no link with any terror group, we are a local registered charity organisation where every single sent obtained from schools fee is used for the redevelopment of the schools,” he added.
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