News
Targeted by dictator, Turkish family seeks refuge in Albany
Three generations of a Turkish family were stripped of their livelihoods, life savings, friends and culture in a sweeping purge by the authoritarian regime of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They languish as political refugees in a cramped apartment along a busy commercial stretch of Delaware Avenue.
‘Gulenists’ talk about finding a safe haven in Kosovo
Thousands of Turkish nationals, including Gulenists, opposition members, and minorities, fled Turkey and scattered throughout the globe, particularly in Europe and the US; some educators and civil servants with actual or alleged ties to the transnational religious Gulenist movement fled to Kosovo.
Erdogan advisor likens Turkey purge to Aborigine, Native American, Armenian cases
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s chief advisor, Mehmet Uçum, has said the Turkish state can apologize to the victims of a post-coup era purge and witch-hunt targeting the faith-based Gülen movement years after the events take place, as Australia did for the Aborigines, the US did for the Native Americans and Turkey did for the Armenians.
HRW: Prosecutions of alleged followers of Gülen Movement lack of evidence of criminal activity
HRW report: “People continued to be arrested and remanded to pretrial custody on terrorism charges, with at least 50,000 remanded to pretrial detention and many more prosecuted since the failed coup. Those prosecuted include journalists, civil servants, teachers and politicians as well as police officers and military personnel. Most were accused of being followers of the US-based cleric Fethullah Gülen. Their charge often lacked compelling evidence of criminal activity.”
Former intel chief calls for use of ASALA, MOSSAD tactics to kill Gülen followers
İsmail Hakkı Pekin, a former intelligence chief of the Turkish General Staff, has suggested that Turkey make use of tactics it used against Armenian militant group, the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), and those employed by Israeli intelligence agency MOSSAD against Nazis in order to assassinate followers of the Gülen movement abroad.
Fethullah Gülen’s Message for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Throughout his life, Dr. King spoke out against oppression, and he expressed discontent with people who remained silent. Indifference has led to the demise of many communities throughout history. Every believer’s attitude should be: No matter where injustice and oppression occurs, it concerns me and I have a responsibility to do something about it.
668 babies – children in Turkey’s prisons
In August 2017, the news outlet TR724 revealed that there are 668 children under the age of six in Turkey’s prisons. 149 of these children are under twelve months old, and there are many others under the age of eighteen. These statistics are even more appalling when one considers the horrible prison conditions and extent of torture in post-coup Turkey.
Turks Fleeing To Greece Find Mostly Warm Welcome, Despite History
Now, at least 1,000 Turkish citizens are seeking refuge in Greece, according to the refugee support nonprofit SolidarityNOW. It’s hard to pin down an exact number because not many have applied for asylum, says Antonis Spathis, a human rights lawyer in Thessaloniki. The Greek Asylum Service told NPR that 186 Turkish citizens applied for asylum in 2016 and noted there has been a “significant” increase in 2017.
