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

Loyal depositors shoulder Turkey’s Bank Asya while political war rages

Selling everything from their sofas to their wedding rings, Bank Asya clients are battling to shore up the Turkish lender against what they say is a government-orchestrated bid to scuttle it.

Kurds, Turkey and growing with Öcalan’s help?

As far as the Kurds living in other countries are concerned, as Fethullah Gülen underscored in his Rudaw newspaper interview, Turkey should not only be interested in the well-being of Turks’ ethnic brothers in other countries but also Kurds’ and other ethnically non-Turkish citizens’ brothers and relatives all over the world. Thus, instead of seeing an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Syria as a threat, we must be happy that our Kurdish relatives on the other side of the border will hopefully have better living standards and human rights.

Chronology of Dec. 17: The stones are settling into place…

İSTANBUL Dec. 17, 2013: On the morning of Dec. 17, Turkey wakes up to a bribery and corruption operation. Simultaneous operations in İstanbul and Ankara take place after an investigation that included allegations of land being opened up to illegal city zoning, bribery and money laundering. The operations, which are carried out on the orders […]

Turkish Olympiad raises hopes for world peace

İPEK ÜZÜM, İSTANBUL Students who have arrived in Turkey from countries around the world for the 11th International Turkish Olympiad, which is a festival that celebrates the Turkish language and has brought together 2,000 students from 140 different countries this year, are building strong ties and lasting friendships and in turn raising hopes for world […]

Woman sent to prison on coup charges hours after surgery

Ayşe Bulut Yanılma, a female teacher who used to work at a prep-school affiliated with Turkey’s Gülen group, has been arrested by a Turkish court hours after she had a surgery at a Kocaeli hospital.

Turkey Should Protect All Prisoners from Pandemic

Terrorism may sound like the gravest of offenses, but in Turkey, the government misuses the charge for political ends. Many inmates are placed in lengthy pretrial detention or sentenced without evidence.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

SEO Skill Suite: Tools for Keyword Research, Technical & Backlink Analysis

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

In Case You Missed It

Saylorsburg cleric sends statement to Muslim-Catholic conference

86-year-old Gülen-linked philanthropist arrested on terror (!) charges

Zaman Media Group receives 5 awards from WAN-IFRA

Fethullah Gülen says Turkey’s involvement in a war would bring mass destruction

Turkey’s media watchdog asks Albanian counterpart to restrict Gülen documentary

AKP official: Torture claims won’t be investigated if victims are Gülenists

Turkish aid organization becomes direct target of AK Party

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News