Keyword: Freedoms
Inspector candidate labeled ‘red’ by ministry confirms profiling reports
A candidate inspector for the Ministry of Finance who learned from recent media reports that he had been profiled by the ministry on the basis of his family background has confirmed that the information disclosed by the media matches his personal information.
Gov’t criticized for forcing scientific researcher to alter report
Claims by the former head of a scientific research agency who was dismissed a day after his public remarks that he was forced to make changes to a report that was part of an investigation into bugging devices found at the prime minister’s office have triggered a harsh reaction against the government.
Turkish journalist at daily Bugün is threatened
A journalist at the Ankara branch of the daily Bugün has claimed that he received a threatening phone call which he describes as “insulting and discomforting.” The threat follows recent similar claims by Cüneyt Özdemir, a writer at the newspaper Radikal and anchor of the 5N 1K program broadcast by the CNN Türk TV station.
Prime Ministry asks president to purge ‘parallel state’ in his office
The Office of the Prime Minister has submitted a list of people who are allegedly members of the Hizmet movement to President Abdullah Gül, the Taraf daily claimed on Thursday, as part of widespread government attacks on the movement.
Almost 1,000 officers removed from post in İzmir, Ankara
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
Accused by Erdogan of plotting a coup, Hizmet movement fears for freedom in Turkey
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.
Beating ‘domestic enemies’ in the game of ‘advanced’ democracy
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.
Gülen’s lawyer: Doctored tapes part of plans to finish off Hizmet movement
Nurullah Albayrak, the lawyer of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, released several recorded phone conversations of his client on Wednesday, saying they were illegally wiretapped in violation of individuals’ privacy and that some politicians are using them as an instrument in their shady plan to finish off the Hizmet movement.
Turkish-Arab forum focuses on gov’t oppression on Hizmet
Discussing the recent developments in Turkey and the Muslim world during the “Arab-Turkish Intellectuals Forum” in İstanbul on Tuesday, a scholar from Egypt likened the smear campaign conducted by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan against the Hizmet movement to the suppression of a civic movement in Egypt.
Police pressure businessmen who sued Erdoğan over Hizmet remarks
On one day, police paid a visit both to the residence and workplace of the businessman, who requested to remain anonymous, even though there had not been any violation of law on his part. Asking arbitrary questions at the businessman’s residence, such as, “Why did you sue the prime minister?”, “What does your husband [the businessman] do?”, “Do you own the house or is it rental?” and “Do you have a car?”, the police asked for the mobile phone number of the businessman and left. The policeman said that they came from the Tepebaşı Police Station in Ankara.
Kimse Yok Mu chair Cingöz: Everyone feels some type of oppression in Turkey
Kimse Yok Mu was designated a nongovernmental organization in March 2002. It had started its work following a devastating earthquake in Turkey in August 1999. Kimse Yok Mu now reaches out to different regions of the world affected by catastrophes. It is officially recognized by Turkey as an association that works for “public interest.”
Now, speaking Turco-Tweetish is more challenging
Volunteers from the Hizmet movement are overseeing the campaign on Twitter to criticize the Turkish government by introducing followers to a trending topic with a new hashtag every day, and since the Hizmet movement has active members in more than 150 countries, their actions on Twitter have exploded.
