İpek Holding chairman denies reports about alleged mansion for Gülen
Date posted: January 23, 2014
İSTANBUL
Koza İpek Holding’s chairman, Akın İpek, who is known for his support for the Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, released a statement on Thursday denying reports in the Sabah and Takvim dailies which had claimed that İpek has been constructing a luxury villa for Gülen.
Sabah and Takvim reported on Thursday that İpek had been constructing a 14,000-square-meter luxury villa where Gülen will allegedly stay when he returns to Turkey from Pennsylvania, where he currently lives. In the press release, İpek strongly denied the reports, stating that the mansion shown in the photos published in the dailies has belonged to their family for over 40 years.
Stating that such reports violate their private lives and has upset his entire family, İpek said the dailies had reported baseless news using imaginary scenarios as though they were facts. İpek said the mansion had recently been renovated as his mother will move in
Fear Grows in Turkey as Crackdown on Gulen Followers Continues
The Turkish authorities are continuing their crackdown on followers of Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is being blamed for a failed military coup attempt. With tens of thousands of people arrested, opposition parties are starting to voice concern that the crackdown is turning into a witch hunt.
Bank Asya recovers from gov’t provocation
The clampdown on the Bank Asya first started with a defamation campaign run by pro-government media outlets and was later followed by a claim by Interior Minister Efkan Ala, who asserted that the bank had made extraordinary profits on the foreign currency market. All these allegations were refuted by the bank, which published their currency transactions; the central bank has confirmed that there has been no wrongdoing by the bank.
CHP: Anti-Hizmet ops were part of agreement between Erdoğan, military
Main opposition Republican People’s Democratic Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Barış Yarkadaş has said the release of suspects in the historic Ergenekon trial and the government-initiated operations against the Hizmet movement were part of an agreement between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish military.
Beating ‘domestic enemies’ in the game of ‘advanced’ democracy
The writers, intellectuals and the journalists close to the Hizmet movement have, from the very beginning, called on the government to take legal steps against those whom he constantly labels the “parallel state” so that they could also know who they are.
Police detain student over fingerprints on Gülen books
According to a report, the police were informed that books written by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen were thrown in the garbage by unidentified people in the Belediyeevleri neighborhood of the Canik district of Samsun province. After the investigation, fingerprints on the books were matched to those of A.E.A, a 22-year-old university student.
Who is Fethullah Gulen? (by National Catholic Reporter)
By blaming Fethullah Gulen and the Gulen movement for the coup attempt, Mr. Erdogan’s authoritarian tendencies have only increased as witnessed by the tens of thousands arrested and detained, and the radical curtailing of free speech. It now appears that in Mr. Erdogan’s hands Turkey’s future and that of the Middle East will be less democratic, less stable and more tumultuous than ever.
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
Gülen’s lawyer denies client facing arrest warrant or extradition
NTIC’s growing support help 13000 underprivileged children
Turkish school threatens students who refuse to write poems on coup attempt
Hizmet without borders
Ayse Bohurler says International Herald Tribune misquoted remarks on Gülen movement
Another Gülenist teacher at risk of deportation from Bosnia