Fethullah Gulen Acquitted


Date posted: June 26, 2008

The Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals has rejected the Chief Prosecutor’s Office’s objection to the acquittal of scholar Fethullah Gulen, which was upheld by the appeals court in early March. Gulen had been charged with “establishing an illegal organization”. The objection was soundly defeated by a 16 to 7 vote.

Fethullah Gulen’s acquittal has been officially registered a third time following the objection of the Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçinkaya.

GULEN ACQUITED 3 TIMES

The Supreme Court of Appeals approved the previous decision of acquittal of Gulen by a 16 to 7 majority. Therefore Gulen’s acquittal has been registered irrevocably by the top court in Turkiye.

FIRST ACQUITAL

Gulen was tried on charges of “establishing an illegal organization to undermine the secular structure of the state. The court ruled that Gulen did not commit any of the crimes alleged by prosecutor Nuh Mete Yuksel and upheld Gulen’s acquittal.

SECOND ACQUITAL

The decision of acquittal was appealed and the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided that Fethullah Gulen did not commit any of the mentioned crimes and upheld Gulen’s acquittal unanimously.


Related News

Gülen-inspired schools lead in university entrance exam results

Students from schools inspired by the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement, were the top scorers in a number of categories in this year’s Undergraduate Placement Examination (LYS), according to an announcement on the website of the Student Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM)

Turkish daily Taraf accused of ‘spying’ and ‘terror acts’ for publishing state document

Daily Taraf, which published a document from a 2004 National Security Council (MGK) meeting about a state action plan against the activities of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen’s movement, has been charged with “spying” and “terrorism,” in an investigation launched by the Istanbul Public Prosecutor.

HAPPENING NOW: Police await outside Esenyurt Eslife hospital to detain woman who just gave birth

A group of police officers reportedly await outside Esenyurt Eslife Hospital in order to detain a woman who gave birth late on July 3, according to tweets posted by the woman’s family members.

Erdoğan’s plan to contain corruption scandal

Despite the obstacles he has orchestrated for those pursuing the investigations, Erdoğan has never been able to gain enough traction to shift the debate away from corruption since Dec. 17. He must now be running on fumes.

Hizmet in Context: Societal Islam Versus Political Islam

The Hizmet movement is according to Ebaugh (2010) a civic movement rooted in Islam that is independent from the state. Others see it simply as a faith- based movement (Esposito and Yilmaz 2010). Agai (2004) describes it as an education network and Hendrick (2009) as a global pressure group to promote Turkish interests.

Stability in the post-Erdoğan era

In a BBC interview aired in late February, Fethullah Gülen once again spelled out the most important challenges for Turkey: establishing unity among diverse groups that include Alevis, Kurds and others; boosting educational opportunities for the young population; and tackling the long-running poverty problem in Turkey.

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

Turkish people’s aid reaches out to Chad through Kimse Yok Mu

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

Formerly Gülen-linked schools in Albania face growing gov’t pressure

Turkey’s targeted teachers find refuge in Vietnam

Gülen: Smear campaign targets those promoting Turkish culture

Pacifica Institute Utah hosts ‘Love is a Verb’ screening for interfaith season

‘We won’t stop the witch-hunt’ AKP parliamentary group deputy chair says

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News