The Turkish Supreme Court of Appeals has rejected the Chief Prosecutor’s Office’s objection to the acquittal of scholar Fethullah Gulen, which was upheld by the appeals court in early March. Gulen had been charged with “establishing an illegal organization”. The objection was soundly defeated by a 16 to 7 vote.
Fethullah Gulen’s acquittal has been officially registered a third time following the objection of the Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalçinkaya.
GULEN ACQUITED 3 TIMES
The Supreme Court of Appeals approved the previous decision of acquittal of Gulen by a 16 to 7 majority. Therefore Gulen’s acquittal has been registered irrevocably by the top court in Turkiye.
FIRST ACQUITAL
Gulen was tried on charges of “establishing an illegal organization to undermine the secular structure of the state. The court ruled that Gulen did not commit any of the crimes alleged by prosecutor Nuh Mete Yuksel and upheld Gulen’s acquittal.
SECOND ACQUITAL
The decision of acquittal was appealed and the 9th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals decided that Fethullah Gulen did not commit any of the mentioned crimes and upheld Gulen’s acquittal unanimously.
Supreme court calls on AK Party’s Şahin to substantiate claim about Gülen
The Supreme Court of Appeals has asked a senior Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official to hand over any evidence regarding his allegations about US-based Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen amid claims by the official that a judge at the high court had acted contrary to legal procedures and contacted Gülen before issuing his final verdict in a case against a businessman several years ago.
The U.S. may face a choice between geopolitical calculation and human decency
Such movements, especially if they’re Muslim, attract suspicion in the West. In 2008, the Dutch government began investigating Hizmet. Its conclusions were that the movement isn’t involved in terrorism or a breeding ground for radicalism, nor does it oppose integration of Muslims into secular states. In 2015, MLK’s alma mater, Morehouse College, awarded its Gandhi King Ikeda Peace Award to Gülen for his lifelong commitment to peace among nations. But Erdogan insists that Gülen is a terrorist.
Financial Times: Turkey’s crackdown on dissent has gone too far
More troubling is evidence emerging that his government is now using the attempted coup as a pretext to round up all manner of troublesome opponents, not just the Gulenists. It is also damaging the fabric of Turkish society and undermining its institutions, including the security forces. That is a dangerous move in a country whose immune system is already weakened by jihadism and which is battling armed opponents on several fronts.
A Case for Why Gulen Would Never Support a Coup
In his interview with the prominent French newspaper Le Monde, Gulen has called the July 15 events in Turkey a “terror coup.” As a man who has always condemned terrorism and violence in any shape or form, to which his life’s work is evidence, it is hard to believe that Gulen could have had the slightest connection to the coup.
WSJ: Turks fleeing Erdogan fuel new influx of refugees to Greece
Around 14,000 people crossed the Evros frontier from January through September of this year according to the Greek police. Around half of them were Turkish citizens. Many are judges, military personnel, civil servants or business people who have fallen under Turkish authorities’ suspicion, had their passports canceled and chosen an illegal route out.
Arrested journalist Hidayet Karaca’s letter published in Le Monde
Arrested journalist Hidayet Karaca’s letter detailing the threats that the media in Turkey face was published by Le Monde, one of the leading newspapers in France, on Monday.
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