Turkish police detain al-Qaeda suspects


Date posted: January 14, 2014

ANKARA

Turkish anti-terrorism police carried out raids in six cities on Tuesday, detaining at least five people with alleged links to al-Qaeda, including an employee of a prominent Islamic charity group that provides aid to Syria, media reports and officials said.

At least three people were detained in simultaneous police raids in Istanbul while a fourth person was detained in the central Turkish city of Kayseri, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The police operation comes as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government is fighting allegations of corruption it says were instigated by followers of a moderate Islamic movement led by U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government insists that Gulen’s supporters have infiltrated Turkey’s police and judiciary and are out to discredit the government ahead of local elections in March.

The Humanitarian Relief Foundation, known by its Turkish initials IHH and which is close to the government, said that police searched its office in Kilis, near the border with Syria on Tuesday, and detained one of its employees there.

The group, however, said it has no ties to al-Qaeda and denounced the police raid as an attempt to smear the organization by linking it to terror groups.

“This is a deliberate attack on the IHH,” said Yasar Kutluay, the group’s secretary general. “They are trying to portray the group as an organization with links to terrorism.” He blamed Israel and Gulen’s supporters, for the operation.

The group operated a Gaza-bound ship that was stormed in 2010 by Israeli security forces in a raid that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists. It has played a prominent role in providing food and other aid to Syrian refugees in Turkey and its aid workers have crossed into Syria to provide help to people there.

The Anadolu Agency said a Qatari aid organization, working out of the IHH office in Kilis, was also searched, although no one was detained for questioning.

Turkey has been accused of supporting al-Qaeda-linked groups fighting Assad’s regime. The country denies backing jihadist groups.

Source: USA Today , January 14, 2014

Tags: | |


Related News

Witch hunt and AKP’s legacy from Feb. 28

The witch hunt that has been affecting virtually all state institutions as well as private sector companies in recent months has a specific target: a social group, namely the Hizmet movement. Thousands of innocent people are being victimized solely because of their affiliation with or sympathy toward a social group, and no one can raise an objection to this profound injustice.

CPJ report: Turkey world’s 10th most dangerous country for journalists

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Wednesday released a special report for 2014 designating Turkey is the world’s 10 worst country for journalists, once again underlining the country’s deteriorating situation for freedom of expression and free media.

Gülen: The coup attempt was an outrageous scenario constructed by Erdoğan

“Last year’s failed coup attempt in Turkey [was] nothing but a false flag orchestrated by Turkey’s autocratic President Erdoğan and his henchmen to create a pretext for [the] mass persecution of critics and opponents in a state of perpetual emergency,” SCF concluded.

Hate crimes get worse in Turkey

Despite the fact that Turkey has recently adopted legislation against hate crimes, Turkey’s divisive Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not stopped his attacks with verbal expressions of intolerance and hatred directed at the judiciary, opposition parties, the media, business groups and members of the Hizmet movement, a faith-based civic movement inspired by Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen.

‘Well, you were saying Hizmet is a religious movement?’

The Hizmet movement is considered a civil society organization, an indispensable element in democratic societies. In democracies, elections truly matter. The will of voters is indisputably important. However, there is also another power, called public opinion. They influence the parties and administrations.

Erdoğan is helping Hizmet community in three ways

If President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had given an assurance to the world, saying, “The Hizmet movement never resorts to violence and it is an antidote to Islamist violence,” people would still have nurtured doubts and they still would have asked if they, like Islamists, would resort to violence under duress.

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 Food Festival seeks to teach Greenville about Turkey’s culture and cuisine

The aftermath of the failed Turkey coup: Torture, beatings and rape

D.C.-based law firm gathers intel on U.S. residents for Turkey – WSJ

Students from West Africa gather at Turkish school in Senegal

Turbulent times [in Turkey due to corruption probe]

Fethullah Gülen’s Statement on the Shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada

US prosecutor denies any links to Gülen, says never set foot in Turkey

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News