Governor’s office leads raid against Gülen inspired school based on annulled law


Date posted: October 19, 2015

MEHMET KURU / ESKISEHIR

The Eskişehir Governor’s Office has stated that an annulled law was mistakenly used in the inspection warrants for Samanyolu Primary School and its high school as well as for a FEM prep school in the province, showing how carelessly the government-orchestrated operations are being carried out against the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement.

The Lawyer, Selamet Şen, representing the schools told Today’s Zaman that when the aforementioned schools were inspected on July 30 and 31 with the presence of policemen, he filed a question to the Eskişehir Governor’s Office seeking justification for the inspections. In an official document sent to Şen, the governor’s office referred to the Article 10/E of the Law No. 5442. However, it was later revealed that the law in reference was annulled in 2008.

When the issue went public through the media, the Eskişehir Governor’s Office sent Şen another letter saying that the annulled law was mistakenly written in the inspection warrant, this time referring to Article 11/E of the same law. Şen argues that the police operations against the schools he represents are still unlawful as they were conducted with the instructions of the governor’s office.

Referring to Article 3 of Law No. 5580, Şen says that all training and education activities in Turkey are subjected to the permission and the inspection of the Ministry of Education; thus, the order of inspection issued by the governor’s office is unlawful. Şen said he was preparing to file a criminal complaint against the misconduct in office.

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has for a while been organizing police raids against schools and civil society organizations inspired by the Gülen movement, under the guise of inspections. Calling it an illegal movement, yet without being able to present any valid evidence for this claim whatsoever, the AK Party tries to defame the movement and drive people away from it. However, time has proven that those who admire the Gülen movement’s worldwide efforts of promoting peace and tolerance through multicultural and multi-faith dialog have remained loyal to it and have maintained a strong stance against the unlawful government oppression.

Source: Today's Zaman , October 18, 2015

Tags: | | |


Related News

Turkey Faces Its Iran 1979 Moment

Turkey is at a pivotal point in its history following the failed coup attempt of July 15. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, having survived the coup plot, won fresh legitimacy and gained a new ally: religious fervor in the streets. Mr. Erdogan can use this impetus either to become an executive-style president, or he can encourage the forces of religion to take over the country, crowning himself as an Islamic leader.

İstanbul municipality tears down part of school in midnight operation

The İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality sent teams in the early hours of Tuesday morning to the private Fatih College in the Merter neighborhood to demolish the wall of the school as well as a security cabin in the school’s courtyard.

Erdogan regime’s defamation of Hizmet at full throttle – UK-based academic denies recent allegations

In a written statement released both in Turkish and English, UK-based academic Özcan Keleş denied recent allegations about him that appeared in Turkey’s mostly pro-government media outlets, saying that only his name, his father’s name, his hometown and the fact that Aksaray is a city in Turkey were accurate in the articles. “Everything else is untrue,” Keleş says.

Once lauded as model, Turkey’s Africa initiative loses momentum

One of the main reasons behind the loss of momentum in Turkey’s once-intense efforts to boost relations with African states is the Turkish government’s effort to win domestic battles at any cost. In one such attempt, the Turkish government started to work on a plan to get states to close down Turkish schools abroad that are affiliated with the Hizmet movement, which is inspired by the teachings of Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and known as one of Turkey’s most important soft-power instruments.

Wiretapped recordings erased on orders of new police chief

Earlier this year, claims emerged in the media that police officials in the Diyarbakır Police Department who are members of the Hizmet movement carried out a number of illegal wiretaps since 2008. The prosecutor, unconvinced by the police department’s response, began to examine the circumstances surrounding the whereabouts of the recordings. He questioned several police officers from the department and found that the recordings had been erased on the order of Police Chief Halis Böğürcü, who was appointed head of the Diyarbakır Police Department in early January.

Deutsche Welle: Power struggle between old friends in Turkey

Gülen argued that Muslims should work against “the decline of morality” in society, calling for conservative values like faith and family to be put before modern individualism – but always within the existing secular state structures.

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

The dominant assessment in NATO: Turkey’s President Erdoğan staged the coup himself

THY’s Topçu defends embargo on papers, defamation campaign

Police rescue 8 students, staff of Nigeria-Turkish International School from kidnappers

A Match Made in Hell: The Budding Bromance of Trump and Erdogan

Governor’s office leads raid against Gülen inspired school based on annulled law

Kemalo-Islamists versus civil society and Hizmet

Are Turkey’s torture chambers back?

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News