
Gülen’s lawyer, Nurullah Albayrak, will file a legal complaint in Ankara against the daily on Monday for violating the confidentiality of communication according to Article 132 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) and for insult according to Article 125 of the TCK.

Çetin also denied that he had spoken about resigning with Gülen, adding that the U.S.-based scholar did not give orders to anyone. “He does not interfere with anyone’s preferences. You only take advise and he gives his personal opinion. He has actually persuaded me to stay until today,” the resigned deputy said.

ANFED held a general meeting in Ankara, which brought together 22 associations. After the meeting, Bıyık made some explanations to the reporters on the agenda of the country. Anatolian people are out of sorts due to excessive intervention of the government to the law system, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and law-enforcement officers.

Çetin criticized the emergence of a narrow clique within the party that has replaced the people who have worked diligently and honestly for the party since its establishment. “The AK Party has swiftly drifted away from its original identity and entered into the hegemony of a narrow oligarchic structure as a minister who resigned stated,” said Çetin, adding that the people are once again disappointed by a political party.

More civil society organizations from various parts of Turkey held press conferences on Friday to slam hate speech used by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government against the Hizmet movement, saying that top government officials should refrain from using hateful rhetoric.

Responding to speculations put forward by circles close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that independent Kütahya deputy İdris Bal resigned from the party on an order from Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, Bal has said he did not resign from the party on anyone’s orders, stating that if they could prove this, he is also ready to resign from his post as deputy.

After “lies” and “defamatory statements” about Gülen surfaced in the media once new recordings were leaked on the Internet, lawyer Nurullah Albayrak said in a written statement that Gülen’s phone calls had been illegally wiretapped.

When its involvement in corruption and bribery became public, and that this seemed like the tip of an iceberg, the government thought that it must cover up the subsequent investigation, fearing that yet more investigations would be started — and so crushed the police force and the judiciary like a steamroller.

Çetin reportedly asked AK Party deputies Volkan Bozkır and Ali Aşlık about their shoebox numbers. His joke prompted other deputies to tell the incident to the party administration, which outraged with the joke and referred Çetin to the disciplinary committee with request of expulsion.

Gülen is highly respected both in Turkey and in many countries around the world for educational activities he has pioneered, along with his efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the globe. He is in self-imposed exile in the US, though there is no legal hurdle that prevents him from returning to Turkey.