PM defends Zarrab, suspected of leading bribery ring


Date posted: December 25, 2013

ANKARA
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has praised Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab — who stands accused of being the ringleader of a shady money-laundering and gold-smuggling ring set up to dodge sanctions against Iran — for his contribution to the country’s economy.

“Zarrab exports gold and I know that he is involved in charity activities as well,” Erdoğan said in a rally at İstanbul Atatürk Airport on Tuesday, after he returned from Pakistan.

Erdoğan said that if there were evidence against Zarrab, then why not catch him in the act and get video footage?

Fifty-two people, including bureaucrats, well-known businesspeople and the sons of three ministers, were detained on Dec. 17 in a corruption investigation that has shaken Turkey’s political and business elite and pushed three ministers to resign on Wednesday. Zarrab is alleged to have bribed three ministers and their sons a total of TL 137 million ($66 million) to help him disguise money laundering operations. Halkbank and its general manager, Süleyman Aslan, also under arrest, were involved in Turkey’s gold trade with Iran.

“Is there any evidence that proves the relationship between what has been found in the [Halkbank general] manager’s house and the bank? I have no doubt that he [Aslan] is innocent.”

Erdoğan went on to deny the allegations of corruption and called the investigation an attack on the government, society and the “national will.”

When asked if the probe was a bid to tarnish his reputation, the prime minister said anyone attempting such a thing would fail.

Graft probe came after Gezi protests

Erdoğan blamed the probe on the same “silent resistance” that he said was behind the demonstrations against the government in the Gezi Park movement over the summer.

“It is sad to see that some are acting as subcontractors in this probe, which has been going on since the Gezi protests. We have patience now and will always have it,” Erdoğan said.

In his previous speeches, Erdoğan has suggested that the operation is part of a “psychological war” against the government.

“We have seen those who portrayed themselves as brothers speaking curses,” the prime minister said, referring to the Hizmet movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fetullah Gülen.

The influential scholar spoke the first curse of his life on Saturday in comments that many interpreted as an attack on the ruling party.

“Those who don’t see the thief but go after those trying to catch the thief, who don’t see the murder but try to defame others by accusing innocent people — let God bring fire to their houses, ruin their homes, break their unities,” Gülen said in a video recording uploaded to herkul.org, a website that usually publishes his speeches.

Gülen first recalled his earlier teachings and said that he had always emphasized that individual crimes should not be made public and that Muslims should keep the misdeeds of others “secret.” He added that the important part of respecting human beings is embracing them wholeheartedly and treating them as “you would treat your own child.”

He said that a Muslim should behave according to the teachings of Quran and the Prophet Muhammad regardless of how others behave. “In this framework, being occupied with someone else’s flaws is absolutely not a right thing,” Gülen added.

Gülen said there is an “asymmetrical assault” on the Hizmet movement and urged members of the movement to stand firm and trust in God.

Source: Today's Zaman , December 25, 2013


Related News

Stop doing Erdogan’s dirty work, Freedom centre tells Malaysia

Stockholm Centre of Freedom (SCF) has called on the Malaysian government to halt its dirty bidding on behalf of the growingly repressive Turkish government led by President Recep Erdogan, following the arrest and deportation of three Turkish nationals from Kuala Lumpur.

5,166 Turkish citizens sought asylum in Germany during January-November

According to data from the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, there has been a rapid rise in the number of Turkish people seeking asylum in Germany since a failed coup attempt on July 15. Germany received asylum applications from a total of 5,166 Turkish citizens during the January-November period of 2016, according to a story in Deutsche Welle on Sunday.

Outgoing chairman proudly admits Istanbul Bar Association refused to serve Gülen followers

The Istanbul Bar Association has turned down sympathizers of the Gülen movement who requested lawyers for their hearings in the post-coup trials, the outgoing president Ümit Kocasakal said on Saturday.

Couple jailed for watching Fethullah Gülen videos at Internet cafe

An Ankara couple has been sent to prison after they were caught watching videos belonging to US-based Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen at an internet cafe earlier this week.

Real democrats cannot politicize Islam

Since the mid-1960s, the Hizmet movement has been the sole actor representing civil Islam in Turkey, and for over a decade the Hizmet movement has gained a worldwide reputation for its educational and interfaith dialogue activities.

HRW: 6 Turks taken from Kosovo to Turkey face risk of torture and abuse

Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, on Saturday tweeted that six Turkish nationals who were arrested by Kosovar police on Thursday and apparently spirited out of the country by Turkish intelligence later in the day would face the risk of torture and abuse in Turkey.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

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

In Case You Missed It

Filling the gap left by Gulen

Fethullah Gülen’s prospects for inter-religious dialogue

The end of ‘unshakable’ AKP myth

A Muslim Cleric That America Should Support

Erdoğan confesses anti-Gülen witch-hunt has gone off track

State Islam versus civic Islam

Mogadishu Governor visits KYM Headquarters

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News