Keyword: Turkey
An interview at a party-state
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s witch-hunt campaign to find and eliminate people who are sympathizer of the Hizmet movement and not sympathizer of the government was reflected in interviews that were organized by the Ministry of Education last month. It seems Turkey has totally become a party-state.
TUSİAD chairman says does not see ‘parallel structure’ within state
Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) Chairman Haluk Dinçer has said that he does not see any “parallel structure” within the state as is asserted by pro-government circles, adding that discharging some police officers on accusations of illegal wiretapping does not prove the existence of such a structure.
Zaman Editor-in-Chief: Turkish government no longer democratic
Ekrem Dumanlı was arrested on December 14, part of a series of coordinated raids by Turkish authorities against a number of prominent media figures, all facing charges of belonging to a terrorist “parallel organization.” The organization in question? Fethullah Gülen’s outlawed Hizmet movement.
Hundreds gather in front of Silivri Prison to protest media crackdown
Hundreds of people gathered in front of Silivri Prison on Saturday to protest the detention of Samanyolu Broadcasting Group General Manager Hidayet Karaca, who is being held in custody in the prison as part of a government-orchestrated police operation targeting journalists, scriptwriters and police officers.
Police raid prominent journalists’ foundation GYV in Turkey
GYV’s members strongly protested the police measure. Underlining that the raid violated standard protocol, high-ranking GYV official Recep Usta expressed; “the protocol states that VGM technical teams can come to the building and conduct examinations; and should they find any violation, a period of a month is granted to us [to fix any issues].
Gov’t tries to frame Hizmet with secret statements from shady sources
The alleged government-plot against members of the faith-based Hizmet movement, disclosed in June by former Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin, was further instigated with questionable testimonies obtained from secret witnesses, informants and anonymous complainants leading to criminal prosecutions apparently orchestrated by political authorities.
Observers: Charging Zaman’s editor-in-chief based on 2 columns, 1 report is ‘unlawful nonsense’
Charging Zaman daily Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı for a crime based on two columns and one report published in his paper is “unlawful nonsense,” according to intellectuals and politicians observing the government-backed media crackdown in which the editor was detained.
US law professor: Gülen extradition would be unlawful
Seval Yıldırım, a professor of law at Whittier Law School, said in a statement to Today’s Zaman on Wednesday that for the US to extradite Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen without a formal case against him would be an infringement of US law.
Gülen says abusive language to cover up sins is hypocrisy
Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen has strongly criticized abusive language and remarks within pro-government circles insulting members of the Hizmet movement, saying this kind of behavior is hypocritical and is being employed to cover up their own sins.
Who is Fethullah Gülen?
The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, rightly called it “a coup against democracy” when Zaman Editor-in-Chief Ekrem Dumanlı and STV network executive Hidayet Karaca, together with a number of screenwriters and television producers, were detained on Dec. 14 on the incredible charges of founding or belonging to “an armed terrorist organization aiming to seize the sovereignty of the state.”
