Police raid building Fethullah Gülen resided in 55 years ago
Date posted: December 13, 2016
Edirne police, joined by a group of gendarmes, stormed a building in the city where US-based Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen resided in 55 years ago when he worked as an imam at the famous Üç Şerefeli Mosque.
The government accuses Gülen of orchestrating a coup attempt on July 15, while he denies any involvement.
The building where Gülen stayed from 1959 to 1961 served as the headquarters of the Trakya Şükrüpaşa Education and Culture Foundation until the institution was completely shut down under the post-coup emergency rule declared after July 15.
The police and gendarmes left the building after a search during which they broke some cabinets and walls to find allegedly hidden compartments.
29-Year-Old Judge, A Victim Of Post-Coup Witch Hunt, Dies In Prison
“Mehmet Tosun, 29 year-old, a judge of Council of State. Dismissed with a decree, arrested, got sick in prison, died yesterday, buried today,” Hüseyin Aygün, a former deputy of the main opposition People’s Republican Party (CHP), tweeted on Tuesday.
Cold Turkey: Erdogan’s withdrawal from democracy
The bizarre, phantom-like failed coup d’etat staged against Erdoğan’s increasingly brutal regime on July 15 last year saw him seize the opportunity to exterminate, imprison and purge tens of thousands of his enemies, real and imagined, within all strata of civil society, the military, government, media, education, health, the judiciary and other institutions.
Why on earth does a Hizmet follower flee Turkey?
What follows is a translation of a recently-received one in which a family, sympathizer of the Gulen Movement, a.k.a. Hizmet, talk over their experience in leaving the country. Most of the credit go to the Samanyolu Haber for publishing the story that sheds light on personal stories in what many call Turkish brain drain, on September 6.
PM Erdoğan widens hostile stance to include more and more groups
Erdoğan has been trying to dodge the damaging impact of the corruption scandals by using Hizmet as a scapegoat. Gülen, an ardent supporter of transparency and accountability in government, was critical of Erdoğan government’s efforts to stall the corruption investigations. Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Gülen said that the massive corruption investigations that have shaken the government cannot be covered up no matter how hard the government tries to derail the probes — not even by blaming the scandal on what the prime minister has called the “parallel state,” a veiled reference to the Hizmet movement inspired by Gülen.
Who is the winner?
The Gülen community is a movement of volunteers. The real reason for the row is not the community’s attempt to meddle in politics. It is due to its sheer size and public image. As he did with other groups or communities, Erdoğan sought to take full control of the Hizmet movement in an effort to consolidate his power. Following the defeat of the military tutelage, the government saw a convergence of power. However, the Hizmet movement was not a piece of cake which it could swallow easily. The government had previously purged itself of many bureaucrats who are close to the community.
Fethullah Gülen’s message to his sympathizers in the aftermath of the coup attempt
I hope that those who set their hearts on a cause will not loosen their hands about working on the world solidarity and universal human values, and they will continue on their way. I hope they do not get shaken by such storms, with Allah’s permission and help. Just like all the things happened until today had passed and became history, these latest incidents will pass and become history, with Allah’s permission.
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