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


Related News

Kimse Yok Mu provides meal for 250 Syrians each day in southeastern Turkey

Turkish charity organization distributes meal every day for 250 Syrians who took refuge in Turkish southeastern province of Gaziantep due to ongoing war in their country.

Turkey’s post-coup brain drain

Bekir Cinar was working as an assistant professor at the political sciences department of Suleyman Sah University when it fell victim to the crackdown. He says that many academics with different views were working at the university. Cinar is currently continuing his scientific work at a British university. He considers this a major loss for Turkey, not least because it takes 20 to 30 years to become an academic.

University preparatory courses and the Hizmet movement in Turkey

Most (university) preparatory courses (in Turkey) are run by the Hizmet movement, and it is very clear that the government’s steps to close down such courses, an action against the movement, will negatively affect a great number of people. Many analysts said it is impossible for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which does not have a good relationship with the Hizmet movement, to close down preparatory courses in the run-up to the pre-election period.

Former Turkish officer at NATO: Coup attempt was never meant to succeed

A former Turkish officer who served at NATO headquarters in Brussels but was sacked and recalled to Turkey as part of an investigation into a failed coup on July 15 claims that the putsch was clumsily executed and never intended to bring down the government, but rather served President Erdoğan to eliminate his opponents.

What do people say about corruption, gov’t and Hizmet?

Do you find the corruption operation right? Yes: 60.5 percent. No: 26.5 percent. No answer: 13 percent. Do you believe in claims that some ministers were involved in corruption? Yes: 70.1 percent. No: 16.8 percent. No answer: 13.1 percent. Do you think the government is trying to cover up claims of corruption? Yes: 59.7 percent. No: 29.6 percent. No answer: 10.7 percent.

Woman gave birth while in detention, handcuffed to bed by police

A Turkish woman who was arrested when she was eight months pregnant has recently been released after giving birth while incarcerated. Turkeypurge.com reached out to the victim, who spoke about her experiences under arrest. She preferred not to reveal her identity due to concerns over Turkey’s socio-political environment.

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

Acclaimed Russian academic praises Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen

Ayse Bohurler says International Herald Tribune misquoted remarks on Gülen movement

Scholars: Misconceptions of Islam still abound

Erdogan plotted purge before coup, say Brussels spies

Peace Islands Institute hosts iftar in NY

US ambassador story concocted by gov’t team, claims daily

ECtHR Asks Turkish Gov’t For Explanation Over The Case Of Abducted Lawyer

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News