News
Tentacles of Turkey’s growing autocracy reach Thailand
“After the 2010 election, Erdogan and the AKP failed to politicise the Gulen movement, a civilian Islamic phenomenon,” Erdem says. Power-hungry forces within the AKP reached out to Gulen, intent on tapping this source of mass political support. When the tactic failed, Gulen supporters came to be seen as enemies of the state.
Turkish gov’t jailed not only journalist Karaca, but also his lawyers and the judges who ruled to release him
The trial of Turkish journalist Hidayet Karaca (55) has already taken its place in judicial history because not only has he been persecuted by the Turkish government but also both his lawyers and the judges who ruled to release him from jail have been imprisoned.
Journalist Gültaşlı: European institutions are ‘cherry-picking’ imprisoned journalists in Turkey
“It is getting increasingly clear that European institutions are ‘cherry-picking’ the imprisoned journalists in Turkey for whom they want to protest,” wrote journalist Selçuk Gültaşlı, who was Brussels bureau chief for the Turkish Zaman newspaper, on the Brussels-based online news website euobserver.com on Tuesday.
Lawyer of arrested officers detained for Gülen movement propaganda
Lawyer Kemal Uçar, known for his critical statements concerning July 15, 2016 coup attempt cases, has been detained as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement, Milliyet daily reported. Uçar used to share messages on social media that the ByLock mobile phone app cannot be used as evidence to arrest people. Uçar said on a TV program that 52 of 58 casings found in Taksim on the coup night were not fired by soldiers according to an official report.
Turkey jails teacher to pressure husband into ‘confessing’
The latest victim of the Turkish government’s tactic of guilt by association with the purpose of blackmail is Semra Çakır, a 41-year-old teacher, and her 2-year-old daughter Zeynep Şura Çakır as part of its massive post-coup witch-hunt targeting alleged members of the Gülen movement.
Man dies of heart attack while on way to help Turkish refugees in Greece
A 43-year-old Turkish man has died of heart attack while on a charity trip for Turkish asylum claimants in Greece. Hasan Degirmenci suffered a heart attack at the house of a Turkish [refugee] family in Athens and was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital where he later died.
Turkey and the “forgotten” Zaman journalists in jail
Two years of the seizure of his newspaper and his sacking, the former bureau chief of Zaman newspaper in Brussels, Selçuk Gültasli, visited the EFJ-IFJ headquarter to deliver a special briefing on “the desperate situation of Zaman journalists and media workers in jail” in Turkey.
Turkey’s Global Anti-Gülen Crusade Puts Tbilisi in Diplomatic Bind
Mustafa Emre Çabuk is out of prison but not out of trouble. The Turkish national, who for the past 15 years ran a Gülen school in the Georgian capital, Tblisi, is the latest international educator caught up in Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s anti-Gülenist campaign.
Erdoğan Jails Hundreds of Babies in Paranoid Purge
When will the world pay heed to the humanitarian crisis on Erdoğan’s home turf that engulfs more innocent people by the day, even crying babies? Erdoğan’s paranoid purge of perceived political enemies has landed hundreds of babies and toddlers behind bars, sometimes arresting mothers on the very day they have given birth.
Teacher tortured to death by Turkish police found innocent, reinstated to job
Teacher Gökhan Açıkkollu, who was tortured to death while in police custody in the wake of a coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016 over alleged membership in the faith-based Gülen movement, was found innocent one-and-a-half years later and “reinstated” to his job.
Students, Parents Protest Over Afghan-Turk Schools’ Transfer To Maarif Foundation
Parents of the Afghan-Turk school students took out to the Kabul streets on Saturday to protest the government’s decision over banning a schools’ activity and transferring the schools, which have been affiliated with the Gülen movement, to the controversial Islamist Maarif Foundation.
Mr. Fethullah Gülen’s Message of Condolences for Rev. Billy Graham
Fethullah Gülen: I was saddened to learn of the passing of Rev. Billy Graham, a renowned man of faith who reached hundreds of millions with his inclusive messages in service of world peace. With his departure he leaves a gap that is hard to fill.
