Human rights group urges foreign gov’ts to ensure safety of Gülen followers


Date posted: December 28, 2017

Virginia-based human rights organization Advocates of Silenced Turkey (AST) in a piece on HuffPost has called on foreign governments to ensure the safety of participants of the Gülen, or Hizmet, movement.

Followers of the faith-based Gülen movement have been the main target of the Turkish government’s recently engaging in “illegal extraterritorial and extrajudicial actions … to silence dissidents in other countries from various ideologies,” said AST.

The movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, has been accused by the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of orchestrating a failed coup in July 2016, an allegation strongly denied by Gülen.

A December report issued by the group states that “even though actions of the Turkish government against dissidents including the Gulen Movement are not appreciated by many countries around the world, there are some states who are in cooperation with Turkey neglecting human rights and fundamental freedoms,” citing the illegal detention and sometimes deportation of movement followers in Afghanistan, Sudan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Georgia, Myanmar and Malaysia.

“What is common in all these countries mentioned above is that human rights violations and corruption have already been a pattern and part of the government culture. It is safe to analyze that Erdogan Government tends to infiltrate the government bodies of these countries bribing the local officials and politicians,” says AST.

“In conclusion, AST urges foreign governments to take all the necessary steps to ensure safety to these people before it is too late. ‘Security officers must be aware of the potential risks. Officials working for the government abroad must be watched closely, they must be prevented if they are in preparation of any harm. Lastly, both individuals and organizations that are deemed to be Hizmet participants must be provided extra protection when there is an imminent risk targeting them’,” AST concludes in its report.

Source: Turkish Minute , December 18, 2017

Tags: | |


Related News

Teacher arrested after repairman found Gülen’s audio CD in computer

A Samsun teacher, identified as Osman K., was detained after a repairman found in his computer a CD that features speeches by Fethullah Gulen. The audio CD, titled Kalbin Miraci, featured faith-based sermons Gulen delivered at mosques in Turkey in the past.

Applicants affiliated with CHP, Hizmet movement face discrimination

Following the tension between the government and the Hizmet movement — inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen — the government has based its recruitment policy on “color lists” to avoid employing people affiliated with some groups such as the Hizmet movement and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the public sector, a Turkish daily claimed on Monday.

Answers to slanderous accusations about Hizmet movement

The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has responded to a series of controversial claims and slanderous accusations made about the Hizmet movement which the foundation said are designed to pit the government against the movement and create tension between the two. Releasing a statement on Tuesday, the foundation felt an obligation to respond to the allegations as a sign of respect for the public’s right to be informed.

Reaction mounts against PM’s witch-hunt remarks

Politicians, members of the judiciary and journalists have spoken out against threatening remarks by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who stated that the government will carry out a witch hunt against followers of a faith-based group [Hizmet movement].

Turkey: Democracy in peril – A human rights report

In a springtime of hope, the first decade of the 21st century, Turks and outside observers shared a dream that Turkey might become that bright star in an otherwise muddled constellation of the Middle East—a real democracy in a predominantly Muslim country, committed to civil liberty, human rights, pluralism, and civil society. That hope has disappeared as but a short- lived meteor in the dark, troubled sky. It is no more; and there is little optimism for its return in the foreseeable future. Turkey’s democracy is in regression.

Appeals court unanimously upholds Fethullah Gülen acquittal

METIN ARSLAN The Supreme Court of Appeals has upheld the acquittal of Fethullah Gülen, first issued by the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court. The 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals reached the decision unanimously, stating that there was no inconsistency in the ruling of the 11th High Criminal Court, adding that it […]

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

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

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Prime Minister Erdoğan in his second home

1,500 pounds of frozen meat for needy Staten Island families

Fethullah Gülen suggests Turkish coup attempt could have been staged

GYV hosts guests from Istanbul’s Armenian Patriarchate at Abraham’s table

Turkish schools organize the biggest science olympiads of Indonesia

Albanian president to Erdoğan: Turkish schools pose no threat

Introducing the Gulen Movement: Prophet’s Path in the Twenty-first Century

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News