Thirteen suspects who were detained as part of an operation targeting followers of the Gülen movement in the central province of Sivas were released after the complainant in the case apologized to them at court and withdrew his complaint, saying he was “forced” by some to launch the case.
The Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) has responded to a series of controversial claims and slanderous accusations that aim to associate the faith-based Gülen movement, also known as Hizmet movement, with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), stressing once again that Hizmet rejects all kinds of violence.
Henri Barkey, who has been one of the leading Turkey analysts in Washington, joined journalist Ruşen Çakır’s live broadcast via Periscope. He made interesting comments about the claims of the “parallel structure,” the situation of Fethullah Gülen in the US, and the appointment of trustees to the Zaman daily.
Sevgi Akarçeşme, former editor in chief of Today’s Zaman, recalls the night when the police raided the building of the most important and independent opposition newspaper in Turkey. «What happened to journalists today» she warns « can happen to citizens tomorrow».
Henri Barkey, who has been one of the leading Turkey analysts in Washington, joined journalist Ruşen Çakır’s live broadcast via Periscope. He made interesting comments about the claims of the “parallel structure,” the situation of Fethullah Gülen in the US, and the appointment of trustees to the Zaman daily.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who launched an all-out war against the faith-based Gülen movement in late 2013, kept his strategy to eliminate the group a secret until he decided to sever ties with it completely, Yeni Asya daily Editor-in-Chief Kazım Güleçyüz has said, adding the elimination strategy was state-sponsored.
Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of prominent Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, has criticized the blocking of herkul.org, a website that regularly broadcasts speeches by Gülen, saying views that are different from the state ideology are considered a crime in Turkey today.
Attorneys for a reclusive Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania asked a federal judge late Wednesday to dismiss a lawsuit that claims he orchestrated human rights abuses in his native Turkey, denouncing it as “pure political theater” by the Turkish government.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan acknowledged during a speech on Tuesday that he has personally been pursuing a “fight” against the so-called “parallel structure,” adding that his administration is ready to cooperate with district governors to “clear” its members from state bureaucracy.
When the Justice and Development Party (AKP) took office in 2002 under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the party’s commitment to democratization was promising. As many political scientists agreed, the first years of AKP rule were a success story, and that was why, with its secular multi-party democracy and its Muslim character, Turkey had emerged as a role model for the Muslim world.