Lawyers for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen have said via Twitter that Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ should have provided proof to back up his statement that Gülen planned to return from the US to Turkey in a similar way to Iran’s revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
Bent on dismantling the “parallel state,” Ankara has embarked on a reckless campaign that threatens to undermine Turkey’s foreign relations. After corruption probes targeted Cabinet members in December 2013, it came as no surprise when the AKP government dismissed and reassigned thousands of police officers, prosecutors and judges in the course of a fierce war on the movement of cleric Fethullah Gulen.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s bid for the closure of Turkish schools affiliated with the Gülen movement in African countries has drawn harsh criticism from various segments of the society, including journalists, artists and politicians.
Members of opposition parties, prominent businessmen and figures in the education world have severely criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for campaigning for the closure of Turkish schools in African countries that are affiliated with the Gülen movement, also known as the Hizmet movement, inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who is a former ally of the president.
A group called Friends of Hrant Dink, including lawmakers and activists, has harshly criticized the government’s recent attempt to associate the Dink’s murder with the Gülen movement, inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, calling on authorities to expose the real criminals behind the murder.
Hermann says Erdoğan’s efforts to destroy the Hizmet movement are aimed at consolidating his own power and regime. “Erdoğan wants to wipe out everyone whom he sees as a rival. There are not many left to challenge him. That left the Hizmet movement as a corrective force. The movement is a danger to him.
Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV) officials were forced to leave its affiliate Intercultural Dialogue Center (KADIM) office in the Eyüp district of İstanbul despite a court order ruling that GYV could return to the premises after the dialogue center was unlawfully evacuated by municipal police on Dec. 26, 2014.
Turkey’s leading prep school network has categorically rejected allegations that its teachers were involved in mass cheating, describing pro-government circles’ latest claim an attempt to “defame” and abolish public service state exams.