Fatih College basketball court demolished despite ongoing case

An excavator demolished the basketball court at the Fatih College campus located in Merter, İstanbul. (Photo: Today's Zaman)
An excavator demolished the basketball court at the Fatih College campus located in Merter, İstanbul. (Photo: Today's Zaman)


Date posted: July 29, 2015

Construction equipment entered Fatih College in İstanbul’s Merter neighborhood on Tuesday, demolishing a basketball court in the school courtyard, despite the fact that a case regarding a decision by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality to construct a road through the courtyard is still ongoing.

According to the Cihan news agency, Fatih College officials said the demolition is unlawful, noting that the case regarding the decision to construct a road through the college courtyard is still ongoing.

Fatih College has been in its location for 20 years but the municipality, controlled by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), decided in October 2014 to construct a road through the college courtyard.

One of the school walls as well as the security guard’s office in the courtyard were demolished by teams from the municipality around midnight on Oct. 6, 2014 and during Eid al-Adha — an official holiday in Turkey. Sources had said the municipality did not send any written warning beforehand to the school administration about the demolition plans.

Parents of students at Fatih College gathered in front of city hall on Oct. 8 to protest the plan to construct a road through the college courtyard.

The head of the parent-teacher association, Nezihe Ehli, previously stated that schools are where the next generation is shaped and must therefore be protected. Ehli also noted that Fatih College’s Merter campus had outstanding successes between 2005 and 2014, grooming champions in high school entry exams, national and international scientific, sports and cultural Olympiads and many awards from the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).

Fatih College is among the schools sympathetic to the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement and inspired by the ideas of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. The movement, together with Gülen, has been targeted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ever since a corruption probe went public on Dec. 17, 2013, implicating senior members of the government.

Erdoğan accuses the movement of being behind the corruption operation and of being a criminal network seeking to overthrow the ruling party government. The movement strongly denies the claims.

Source: Today's Zaman , July 29, 2015

Tags: | | | |


Related News

Kimse Yok Mu to send aid for Syrian refugees with 50 TIRs

Aid materials were collected from various provinces in the Marmara Region and the TIRs arrived in Bolu province. The aid material will be given to around 117, 000 Syrians in the refugee camps. 300 tons of flour, 25 tons of milk, 200 tons of dry food and clothes have been loaded in trucks.

Turkish schools are selected best high schools in Mongolia

Mongolia selected the bests of 2012. Turkish schools that have served in the country for 18 years took the first place among high schools. The world wide Turkish schools, which are founded by philanthropists, keep being popular. The Turkish schools in Mongolia were founded in 1994.  More than 3000 students have graduated so far. Students […]

Samanyolu schools to sue 3 government officials over unlawful search warrant

Samanyolu Educational Institutions are preparing to file a criminal complaint against three government officials on charges of misconduct related to an unlawful warrant to inspect all private schools in Ankara through the end of the 2015-2016 academic year, Today’s Zaman has learned.

Pakistani Education Minister hails Turkish schools

The minister said the schools active in his country offer an excellent education model. “My fellow citizens have embraced these schools,” he said. Speaking of the long-established, brotherly relations between Turkey and Pakistan, “I can explain these heart to heart relations in many ways. We can feel the love from whoever comes here from Turkey. It is hard to put in words. This is brotherhood, this is friendship,” Rahman said.

How hateful discourse manipulates our perception

Claims have been made that these multi-billion-dollar deals have generated a huge hoard of funds for Erdoğan to buy off some media outlets through proxies, hire new sets of journalists to defend his government line and even convert critical analysts with fat checks to prod them to the other side of the aisle. And these claims also explain why some media groups are conducting black propaganda against the Hizmet movement.

The Gülen community and the AKP

TAHA AKYOL The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), which is in line with Fethullah Gülen, has issued an announcement on relations with the ruling party. It is certain that Gülen made the last retouches on the text himself. Gülen defines the movement shortly as “Hizmet” (translated roughly as “service” in English). I asked those who […]

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

A Turkish coup, a family torn apart, a dramatic escape on foot: ‘Can you believe the things we went through?’

Abant Platform “Africa: Between Experience And Inspiration” Final Declaration

The Gulen Movement Is Not a Cult — It’s One of the Most Encouraging Faces of Islam Today

Arab world should embrace the Gülen model

Foreign Policy’s emotional and biased journalism on Turkey

Hizmet and the interfaith movement

Albanian lawmakers reject Erdoğan’s call to close Turkish schools

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News