Efforts in Canada by Turkish authorities and supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have made life miserable for Gulen followers here, many say. They have been made unwelcome in mosques and restaurants frequented by Turkish-Canadians, and they have been cursed and protested against by fellow citizens.
The government-run Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) has taken over more than 200 companies as part of investigations into the Gülen movement in the recent past. Akın İpek, the CEO of Koza İpek Holding until the confiscation, said 18 of the group’s confiscated companies alone worth over $10 billion.
The network of [Pak-Turk] of schools came under the media scanner last month, after the Turkish government demanded that Pakistan close down the entire network following the failed army coup to overthrow Turkish President Erdogan. Since then, Erdogan has ordered a ruthless purge and arrest of anyone even suspected of having links with his political rival, Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdogan holds responsible for the coup attempt.
Another woman, a former Turkish journalist before the government shut down papers that spoke out against it, said: “I feel like my voice has been taken. People don’t feel safe in London, even going shopping, because we don’t know what radicals will do.”
Following President Erdoğan’s statement that no country is safe for Gülen movement sympathizers, the pro-AKP media targeted exiled journalists in the US and Europe on Monday. Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization has been tasked with locating, arresting and even killing military officers who fled Turkey after allegedly taking part in a failed coup attempt in July, according a story in the Vatan daily on Aug. 30.
“I looked for a lawyer for days, but I failed. None of the lawyers agreed to defend my husband. The bar association will assign a lawyer. I feel so helpless. My husband is being tortured. I fear for his life and mental health. Please help me!”
In the email Ahmet Özal says: “Definitely, trustees will be appointed to Turgut Özal University. … I think the esteemed president will also be happy if I cleanse Turgut Özal University [of Gülen sympathizers] and end the association between that community and my father’s name. I would be very pleased if you could convey this issue to the president [Erdogan] and help me get his support and approval.”
Leaked emails of Turkey’s energy minister and son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Berat Albayrak, have revealed plans by a pro-government figure to assume ownership of a dormitory in Kayseri province that used to be operated by the Gülen movement but was closed down by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
Dr. Ismail Sezgin of the Centre for Hizmet Studies in the UK highlights the 13 criteria, based on Turkish PM Binali Yildirim’s statement, to identify Gulen supporters, who the regime considers terrorists. The arrests and purge in Turkey are made according to these criteria. Dr. Sezgin explains that these are nothing to with coup-plotting or terrorism. With these criteria the government of Turkey can anyone and this is what has been happening in Turkey.
Turkish teacher who was denied medical aid after harsh treatment, dies under custody. Gokhan Acikkolu was a teacher of history. As many people, he was detained on charge of being Gulen Fallower on July 23,2016. He died under police custody. He died without even knowing what he was accused of.
Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about sweeping actions against Turkey’s higher education sector, including most recently prolonged incommunicado detention and related risks of torture and ill-treatment of hundreds of higher education professionals, in violation of Turkey’s obligations under domestic and international law.
Jason Hanna and Tim Hume Captured military officers raped by police, hundreds of soldiers beaten, some detainees denied food and water and access to lawyers for days. These are the grim conditions that many of the thousands who were arrested in Turkey face in the aftermath of a recent failed coup, witnesses tell Amnesty International. […]
Phnom Penh’s Turkish-run Zaman International School and its affiliated university have come under fire in the wake of a thwarted coup attempt in Turkey on Friday night, with Turkish authorities now hunting down supporters of Mr. Gulen around the world.