
Fethullah Gulen: As I have stated earlier, I have long called ISIS, al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, Murabitun, and many other organizations terrorist, maybe fifty times. And I have said a Muslim cannot be a terrorist; a Muslim can never engage in terrorism.

Karaman, who was the principle of a prestigious international school that promotes critical thinking as well as holding his post with the Malaysian-Turkish Dialogue Society, does not fit the stereotypical profile of an Isis operative.

Michael Rubin of the American Enterprise Institute just gave us a pat on the back confirming our original assessment of July 2016 that Erdogan had staged the July 2016 coup. Several career Turkish military officers make a persuasive case that Erdogan’s narrative is false and that the coup was essentially Turkey’s equivalent of the Reichstag fire.

A school principal and a businessman have disappeared in the latest in a string of international arrests allegedly ordered by Turkey in a post-coup crackdown that has seen more than 100,000 people detained. Human rights group warns pair could be tortured if they are extradited back to Turkey.

Ekrem Türk, a 34-year old police officer who fought to prevent the advance of army tanks in Turkish capital on the day of failed coup bid of July 15, 2016 was rounded up while he was getting treatment at a private hospital in Ankara.

World Press Freedom Day is an occasion that shines a light on the importance of free speech and a free press. One truly cannot be considered a human being without freedom. Protection of essential freedoms, including the freedom of thought and expression are as important as the protection of life, freedom of religion, bodily and mental health, family and property.

“I have no family to look after me here, and an arrest warrant has been issued for me in Turkey. All three of my business partners and the CEO of my company have been jailed in Turkey. I lead the life of a fugitive,” he says. Salman is wary of providing details about himself or his family, and refuses to be photographed. “My wife and daughter are still there, I don’t want to put them in trouble,” he says.

The Turkish Culture Center of Brooklyn feted a bevy of Brooklyn elected officials tonight as part of their eighth Annual Friendship Dinner & Award ceremony celebrating cultural diversity with the theme of the evening being “Hate Crime.”