WSJ, Judiciary, Gulen Movement, and the Government

Nazli Ilicak
Nazli Ilicak


Date posted: April 4, 2013

The news I read in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) took me by great surprise. Supposedly, (former Gen. Staff) Ilker Basbug’s imprisonment for life was a message from the Gulen Movement to Erdogan, saying, “Beware! You cannot seek resolution on the Kurdish issue without our permission.”

The claim that there was an organizational grouping of members of the Movement in the judicial circle was first brought up when Prosecutor Sadrettin Kaya wished to interrogate Hakan Fidan, Counselor for MIT (National Intelligence Organization). Even if one doesn’t agree with the issue, the fact that the incident was considered to be an “overstepping of judicial boundaries” can at least be paid some respect. However, generalizations made without the support of any sound evidence contradicts with the gravity of the issue.

That said, did it not become obvious that all these claims had been nothing but nonsense after Fethullah Gulen’s support on the Imrali negotiation process? So, this comes to mean that the summoning of Fidan into interrogation was because of the fact that the MIT seemed to have some kind of part in the KCK operations. The prosecutor was obligated to carry on his interrogation, based on the evidence received from security forces and the current laws.

We love writing out different scenarios based solely on assumptions. There are some who do this through their bad intentions, wanting to weaken their target, AK Party. And there are others who get carried away with conspiracy theories and produced baseless claims. Supposedly, the imprisonment of Basbug was a warning from the Movement to Erdogan! As if the Prime Minister were against judging the attempts towards coup! On the contrary, Erdogan had only criticized the widespread apprehensions and the accusation of Basbug on being “a member of a terrorist organization”. Otherwise, he was not apt to covering up and letting go of those who were after psychological operations and black propaganda. After all, without the support of the political will, the process of judging the coups wouldn’t have been able to begin in the first place.

Source: [in Turkish] Sabah, 23 March 2013. English translation is retrieved from HizmetMovement.Com

TagsFethullah GulenDefamation of Fethullah Gulen

 


Related News

Documents expose plot to hold Hizmet responsible for KPSS cheating

The Zaman daily has published documents which reveal that a plot was devised to unjustly hold the members of the Hizmet Movement responsible for a cheating scandal at the State Personnel Examination (KPSS) in 2010.

Analysis: Power of Turkey’s Fethullah Gulen

PM Erdogan accuses Hizmet supporters within the state of plotting a “coup” against the government. But the scale of the upheaval in the police, judiciary, Turkish state TV and other parts of the bureaucracy is already similar to what happens in a coup. The current Erdogan-Gulen stand-off is reminiscent of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s hostile relations with Said-i Nursi, a politically active Kurdish preacher in the formative years of the Turkish Republic.

Turkey’s largest religious publication group denied spot at Ramadan book fair

Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs has refused to allocate an exhibit space at a Ramadan book fair to the country’s largest religious publication group over its affiliation with the Gülen movement.

Religious leader: I was told to blame Gülen movement for police banning my group meeting

Alparslan Kuytul, president of the Furkan Foundation and leader of a religious group critical of the Turkish government, said he was advised to put the blame on the faith-based Gülen movement for a police intervention in a meeting of his followers in April and that the government would ultimately clear the way for his group to operate freely.

BBC Interviews Fethullah Gulen (Powerful but reclusive Turkish cleric)

Tim Franks – BBC Newshour, Pennsylvania – Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour, Fethullah Gulen said: “It is not possible for these judges and prosecutors to receive orders from me.” – Fethullah Gulen has been called Turkey’s second most powerful man. He is also a recluse, who lives in self-imposed exile in the US. – But now, […]

Think over extradition request [for Gulen] with care

In a rare public appearance recently, Gülen stated he had nothing to do with the attempt. Nor has Erdogan provided any obvious evidence that Gülen or his movement were plotting anything. Gülen lives quietly in Ross Township. It will take much detailed research to determine whether to grant Erdogan’s request that Gülen be extradited. U.S. officials should base such a move on only the most compelling evidence. Otherwise, they may be sending a lamb into a lion’s den.

Latest News

Sacramento leaders gather for Iftar dinner in celebration of Ramadan

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

In Case You Missed It

Coup plotter or moderate religious leader? Finnish State TV Yle meets Turkey’s most wanted man

Cleric Accused Of Plotting Turkish Coup Attempt: ‘I Have Stood Against All Coups’

Fethullah Gulen Deplores Recent Attacks on Christians in Pakistan

Religious communities under threat in Turkey

In Greece, Turks tell of lives full of fear in Recep Erdogan’s Turkey

US law professor has no doubt Gulen trial in Turkey was political

Purge of ‘parallel state’ or legitimizing discrimination

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News