Pro-gov’t journo says Gülen followers were abducted, illegally questioned by Turkey’s intelligence agency


Date posted: July 30, 2017

Abdurrahman Şimşek, Sabah’s special editor for intelligence reporting, admitted on Friday that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT) abducted several people who have links to the Gülen movement and illegally questioned them before handing them over to the police.

Speaking during a news program on A Haber on Friday evening, Şimşek said: “Some high-ranking Fethullahist imam, actually a person who is in a position [in the movement] equivalent to general secretary of police, was caught. Indeed, national intelligence caught him and illegally questioned and handed him over to the police.”

At least 11 cases of alleged abductions of people who have links to the Gülen movement, which is accused by Turkish authorities of being behind a failed coup last year, have occurred in various Turkish cities since July 15, 2016.

Previously, an accountant, an engineer, three teachers, a lawyer, a university employee, two intelligence agency officials, an Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTİK) employee and a Competition Authority employee were reported missing. One of the teachers was handed over by unidentified men to police after spending 42 days out of sight.

All have in common in their personal histories that they have lost their jobs amid a sweeping crackdown that the Turkish government has conducted against its critics, particularly members of the Gülen movement.

In a parliamentary question for Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım on April 25, Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu asked why an effective investigation is not being conducted to find these people and who abducted them.

Tanrıkulu also said there is widespread suspicion about the abduction of these people by MİT.

 

Source: Turkish Minute , July 29, 2017

Tags: | | |


Related News

The responsibility of the Hizmet movement

These are difficult times for Muslims. The Islamic World is suffering from a deep economic, political and moral crisis and is taking a downward path in the vicious cycle of corruption, violence, ignorance and oppression. There are, however, several things that offer some warm light in this dark age. The Hizmet movement is one of them.

Turkey asks imams abroad to profile Gülen-linked expatriates

A document dated Sept. 20, 2016 shows that Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) asked Turkish missions and religious representatives abroad to profile Gülen movement expatriates living in their respective foreign countries.

Islam’s internal enemies

Caliph Omar, who is renowned for his attention to justice, paid a visit to sacred sites after taking over control of Jerusalem from Governor Sophronius. He visited Masjid al Aqsa and later also wanted to see the Church of Resurrection where, according to Christian belief, Jesus was crucified and prepared for burial. Sophronius, who was walking with Omar, recalled that he performed prayers everywhere he visited and asked him to do the same at the church. Omar rejected the request saying, “If I perform prayer here, Muslims will build a mosque on this very spot.” Instead he found an empty area to the south of the church for prayer, upon which Muslims thereafter erected a mosque named after Omar.

Albania deports Gülen follower at Turkey’s request despite court rejection of extradition

Albanian authorities on Wednesday deported Harun Çelik, a Turkish teacher at a school affiliated with the faith-based Gülen movement in Albania, to Turkey despite a court order releasing him from his five-month incarceration over an extradition request from Ankara.

KCK suspect Ersanlı says doesn’t believe Hizmet behind coup, terror trials

Professor Büşra Ersanlı, who is among suspects in an investigation into the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) on terrorism charges, has said she doesn’t believe claims raised by some officials linked with government that the faith-based Hizmet Movement led by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen is behind major trials.

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Appearing on TV that night, Erdogan claimed no pre-knowledge of the incident and immediately blamed Gulen supporters in the military. However, Western governments and observers were not convinced. Experts noted the implausibility of a civilian living on another continent organizing a military coup and not being detected by U.S., Turkish or other intelligence agencies.

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

Turkey detains Mozambican software developer over links to Gülen movement

GYV: Hard-won democratic gains sacrificed for short-term interests

The Erdoğan mafia

President Gül hosts Turkish Olympiad students in Ankara

Erdogan purge far worse than the McCarthy era

Kimse Yok Mu launches a bakery for Sudanese orphans

Turkey’s accused – Tragic stories of the purged

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News