PM’s son: Dad, let’s initiate an operation against Hizmet’s senior members


Date posted: March 18, 2014

İSTANBUL

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son Bilal allegedly urged his father to trigger an operation to detain prominent figures of the Hizmet movement in response to an ongoing graft and bribery investigation implicating Erdoğan, his family members and a number of ministers and businessmen close to him.

An audio recording uploaded onto YouTube by Twitter user Başçalan (Prime Thief) purportedly has Erdoğan talking to his son to arrange a time to meet and assess their measures in reaction to the investigation. A voice allegedly belonging to Bilal is heard telling his father that he is not sure whether to say it over the phone or not, but that he thinks an operation against the Hizmet movement is “a must,” adding that “their big guns [higher-ups] should be prosecuted.” Erdoğan replies, “Anyway, son, don’t go there now, stop.”

Despite the prime ministers words, his son continues, “It is of no use to [only] dismiss or change the positions of police chiefs, prosecutors and so on.” An intro text accompanying the audio claims that Bilal was panicked over the impending possibility of arrest for his involvement in a number of illegal practices.

Several previously leaked phone conversations purportedly between Erdoğan and Bilal implicate them rushing to “zero” money stashed at Bilal and other family members’ homes on the morning of Dec. 17, when a graft scandal erupted. The money allegedly amounted to $1 billion cash in US dollars and euros.

The conversations between the prime minister and his son show a lot of effort on Bilal’s part to get rid of the money. In one of these wiretapped phone calls, Bilal tells his father that they had decided to distribute the money to several businessmen to whom they owe money, effectively liquidating a significant part of it by paying for a number of different projects.

Source: Todays Zaman , March 18, 2014


Related News

Finance Minister is the 1001st volunteer at meat distribution campaign

Mehmet Simsek, the Minister of Finance, spent the first day of Eid-Al-Adha at his hometown, Batman, an ethnically diverse city in the Southeastern Turkey. There he attended Kimse Yok Mu Association’s brotherhood event. When Simsek was told that a thousand volunteers from outside the city were gathered in Batman for the Eid-Al-Adha, he replied “Then, I’d be the thousand and first one!”

Police raids Şifa University hospitals in gov’t-led intimidation operation, report says

The police have conducted raids on nine hospitals of şifa University for the purpose of shutting down the hospitals on the orders of the İzmir Public Prosecutor’s Office in a government-led intimidation operation, the news portal haberturk.com reported on Friday.

Central bank data disprove interior minister’s rigging claims

Ala’s remarks were widely interpreted as a reference to Bank Asya, a participation bank affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which the government has tried to scapegoat through conspiracy theories to evade corruption allegations. Some news stories broke soon after Ala’s claims, reporting that Bank Asya’s accounts were being scrutinized for misconduct.

France sentences attacker targeting Gulenists as Turkey releases gunman in similar case

A 28-year-old man of Turkish origin has been handed down a prison sentence of eight months and a fine of 23,000 euros by a French court after he attacked several institutions affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement in the country.

Tension at home hits Turkey’s brand overseas

ESİDEF President Mustafa Özkara said: “Top government officials, who during the Turkish Olympiads only six months ago called the Hizmet movement the ‘peace movement of the century,’ now define the same movement as a ‘parallel structure,’ a ‘gang,’ a ‘criminal organization’ and even Hashashins.

Fethullah Gulen’s brother detained in Erdogan’s ongoing crackdown after coup

One of the brothers of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, Kutbettin, has been detained in the western province of İzmir. More than 100,000 people have been purged from state bodies, 32,000 arrested since the coup attempt. Arrestees include journalists, judges, prosecutors, police and military officers, academics, governors and even a comedian.

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

5 children abandoned in front of prison as mother detained

Establishing a Culture of Coexistence and Mutual Understanding Conference Kicks off in Nigeria

Journalists and Writers Foundation’s statement [on arrest warrant issued for Mr. Gulen]

Municipality illegally demolishes building in İstanbul

Gülen says talk of raid against Zaman aims to intimidate

Virginians Deliver 114,000 Pounds of Winter Warmth to Refugees in Turkey

International Summit: Women’s perspectives on UN post-2015 development agenda

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News