Around 700 police officers, including four deputy chiefs and 70 high-ranking officials, were removed from their posts at the İzmir Police Department and reassigned to different positions on Thursday morning and removals continued later in the afternoon with 207 more officers
The Hizmet is based on the idea of a “modern Islam compatible with democracy” that has been disseminated by Fethullah Gülen since the 1960’s. Gülen, now 75 years old, is a former imam, writer, thinker and teacher. He has been living in the US in volunteer exile since 1999, when he left Turkey due to successive military coups. Even from afar, Gülen keeps influencing thousands of Turks and Muslims around the world.
The writers, intellectuals and the journalists close to the Hizmet movement have, from the very beginning, called on the government to take legal steps against those whom he constantly labels the “parallel state” so that they could also know who they are.
Seasoned journalist Cüneyt Özdemir has said he was threatened by two members of pro-government media outlets and pressured to jump on the bandwagon by lashing out at the Hizmet movement and hosting a commentator who Özdemir said is a staunch supporter of conspiracy theories.
The Taraf daily published a document on Wednesday in supports of its allegations that the government recruits public sector employees using “color lists” to avoid people affiliated with groups such as the Hizmet movement.
Socialist Group leader and one of the most veteran politicians of the European Parliament Hannes Swoboda harshly reacted to the new law on the HSYK. Swoboda said the law was an outright attack on the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law.
If the Cemaat has done something illegal, such as bribing an official to acquire construction license for its schools or illegally coercing businessmen to financially contribute to its activities, is it possible for this country’s citizens to condemn it. If the Cemaat is involved in illegal activities, then it is up to the state or government to reveal them and bring the Cemaat to justice.
Erdoğan put the blame on the “parallel state,” claiming that the whole thing was a plot against the government. Instead of explaining why manager of public bank Halkbank had $4.5 million placed in shoeboxes and why son of former minister of interior, had TL 1.5 million ($0.7 million) in safety boxes in his house when police arrived to take them under custody.
Aid materials were collected from various provinces in the Marmara Region and the TIRs arrived in Bolu province. The aid material will be given to around 117, 000 Syrians in the refugee camps. 300 tons of flour, 25 tons of milk, 200 tons of dry food and clothes have been loaded in trucks.