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Tag: Fethullah Gulen

  • Coup: Turkey reinstates nearly 60,000 passports revoked

     

    Turkey on Friday lifted passport restrictions on nearly 60,000 people with alleged ties to failed coup in 2016, the Interior Ministry said.

    A total of 57,191 passports are now clear of restrictions following investigations, the ministry said on its website.

    It added that a total of 212,541 passports had been reinstated so far since the abortive coup attempt.

    The government had placed passport restrictions on tens of thousands to prevent them from leaving the country as part of a crackdown following the failed putsch on July 15, 2016.

    It is not clear how many passports in total were initially affected.

    Among the reasons for the restrictions were alleged ties to U.S.-based Islamic cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for the coup attempt by a faction in the military.

    The retired cleric and businessman, who once a close ally of President Recep Erdogan, denies the allegations, Gülen movement is designated as a terrorist organisation by the Republic of Turkey.

    In July 2016, a coup d’état was attempted in Turkey against state institutions, including the government and President Erdoğan.

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    Gülen has suggested the coup was in fact a “self-coup” carried out by Erdoğan to consolidate his grip on power, a belief shared among some analysts and Turks.

    During the coup, more than 300 people were killed and more than 2,100 were injured.

    Many government buildings, including the Turkish Parliament and the Presidential Palace, were bombed from the air.

    Mass arrests followed, with at least 40,000 detained, including at least 10,000 soldiers and, for reasons that remain unclear, 2,745 judges.

    Also 15,000 education staff were suspended and the licences of 21,000 teachers working at private institutions were revoked as well after the government alleged they were loyal to Gülen.

    More than 77,000 people have been arrested and more than 160,000 fired from their jobs, on accusation of connections to Gülen.

  • Turkish opposition holds rallies against state of emergency

    Turkey’s main opposition party organised dozens of rallies across the country on Monday to protest the ongoing state of emergency, in place since July 2016, which grants the government sweeping powers.

    More than 50,000 people are jailed under state-of-emergency decrees and more than 150,000 people have lost their jobs.

    Decrees are issued in place of laws on a range of matters, from national security to privatising sugar factories.

    The centre-left People’s Republican Party (CHP) said it organised protests in each of the country’s 81 provinces, ahead of a vote Wednesday in parliament on extending the state-of-emergency by another three-months, bringing it to a full two-years.

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    The government says the state of emergency is needed to combat terrorism, in particular from the movement of Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based cleric, who Ankara blames for organising a failed military coup in 2016.

    The CHP and other government critics say emergency rule is eroding democracy and the rule of law and being applied unfairly.

    The protests come on the first anniversary of a referendum on vastly expanding the powers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    The vote narrowly passed, though the opposition alleged there were irregularities.

    Protesters held up signs saying “no to one man” and against emergency rule. One of the main slogans chanted: “Rights, Law and Justice.”

    Hundreds of people took part in a demonstration near Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square and similar rallies were being held in other major cities, according to videos and images posted by CHP members of parliament.

    Main broadcast media outlets did not report the demonstrations.

    NAN

  • U.S. pastor denies allegations of coup links as Turkey trial begins

    A U.S. pastor on Monday denied allegations of links to a group accused of orchestrating a failed military coup in Turkey, as he went on trial in a case that has fuelled strains in relations between Ankara and Washington.

    Brunson, a Christian pastor from North Carolina living in Turkey for 23 years, was been indicted on charges of helping the group that Turkey holds responsible for the failed 2016 coup against President Tayyip Erdogan.

    “I’ve never done something against Turkey. I love Turkey. I’ve been praying for Turkey for 25 years.

    “I want truth to come out,” Andrew Brunson told the court in the western Turkish town of Aliaga, north of the Aegean city of Izmir.

    “I do not accept the charges mentioned in the indictment. I was never involved in any illegal activities,” said Brunson, making his defence in Turkish.

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    His wife was in the courtroom, as were North Carolina senator Thom Tillis and U.S. envoy for religious freedom Sam Brownback.

    Brunson’s trial is one of several legal cases which have hurt ties between Turkey and the U.S.
    The two countries are also at odds over Washington’s support for a Kurdish militia in northern Syria that Turkey considers a terrorist organisation.

    Washington has called for Brunson’s release while Erdogan suggested in 2017 the pastor’s fate could be linked to that of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whose extradition Ankara has repeatedly sought to face charges over the coup attempt.

    NAN

  • Turkey warns citizens traveling to U. S. of arbitrary arrest

    Turkey warns citizens traveling to U. S. of arbitrary arrest

    Turkey on Friday warned its citizens against travel to the U.S., saying Turks face the risk of arbitrary arrest and should take precautions if they do decide to travel.

    The comments from the Turkish Foreign Ministry come after the U.S. Department of State this week made a similar warning to its citizens, saying Americans planning to visit Turkey should reconsider plans due to “terrorism and arbitrary detentions”.

    Ties between Ankara and Washington, both NATO allies and members of the coalition against Islamic State, have been strained by the U.S. arrest and conviction of a Turkish banker in an Iran sanctions-busting case, a trial Turkey has dismissed as politically motivated.

    “Turkish citizens traveling to the United States may be subjected to arbitrary detentions based on testimonies of unrespected sources,” the ministry said in a statement.

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    Ankara has said that the case against the banker was based on false evidence and supported by the network of the cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it blames for orchestrating a failed coup in 2016.

    Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since 1999, has denied the charges and condemned the coup.

    The travel warning updates come after the U.S. and Turkey lifted all visa restrictions against each other in late December, ending a months-long visa dispute that began when Washington suspended visa services at its Turkish missions after two local employees of the U.S. consulate were detained on suspicion of links to the coup.

    NAN

  • Turkey seeks arrest of ex-CIA officer over coup plot

    Turkey’s chief prosecutor has issued an arrest warrant for former CIA officer, Graham Fuller.

    The prosecutor accused Mr. Fuller, former vice-chairman of the United States National Intelligence Council, of having links to Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen.

    Mr. Gulen, who lives in the U.S, is blamed by Turkey for last year’s failed coup attempt, the BBC reports.

    He denied the claim.

    The warrant also accused Mr. Fuller of “attempting to overthrow” Turkey’s government.

    More than 50,000 people have been arrested in Turkey pending trial over links to Mr. Gulen.

    Another 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the public and private sectors since the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

  • Turkey docks 143 soldiers in failed coup

    Turkey docks 143 soldiers in failed coup

    One hundred and forty three former Turkish soldiers went on trial on Monday in Istanbul over their deadly clashes with civilians on a bridge on the night of a coup attempt in 2016, local media reported.

    Thirty-four people were killed on the bridge over the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul as clashes erupted between civilians and soldiers trying to seal off the bridge at the start of a coup bid by some in the military on July 15, 2016.

    A close friend of Turkish President Recep Erdogan was among the dead and 318 others were injured in the clashes on the Bosphorus Bridge, which was later renamed July 15 Martyrs Bridge by the government to honour the dead civilians, who resisted the plot.

    If convicted, the dismissed soldiers each will face aggravated life imprisonment over “murder and attempting to overthrow the parliament and government,” press reports said.

    Turkey believes that the coup attempt, in which 250 people were killed across the country, was orchestrated by the U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers in the military.

    Turkey has been pushing for Gulen’s extradition, while a continuing crackdown has put more than 50,000 in prison and 150,000 others dismissed from their posts.

    NAN

  • Turkey orders detention of 133 workers in post-coup probe

    Turkey orders detention of 133 workers in post-coup probe

    Turkish authorities have issued detention warrants for 133 people working in the finance and labour ministries, the state-run Anadolu news agency said on Thursday.

    The detention, according to Anadolu, was part of a widening crackdown  by the government following the 2016 failed coup attempt.

    The suspects were detained for allegedly using ByLock, an encrypted messaging app which the government said was used by the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara of orchestrating July abortive coup.

    Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, denies involvement.

    Anadolu said that 101 of the suspects were from the Finance Ministry and 32 from the Labour Ministry.

    It said that two of the suspects from each ministry were active workers.

    Since then, more than 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial over links to Gulen, while 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from jobs in the public and private sectors.

    Rights groups and some of Turkey’s Western allies have voiced concern about the crackdown, fearing the government is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent.

    The government says only such a purge could neutralise the threat represented by Gulen’s network, which it says deeply infiltrated institutions such as the army, schools and courts.

    In a latest development, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted by media as saying that Turkey, Iran and Iraq will jointly decide on closing the flow of oil from northern Iraq.

    That was a retaliatory move after the Kurdish region voted for independence.

    Erdogan while speaking to Anadolu and other media including broadcasters NTV and CNN Turk on his return flight from a one-day trip to Iran, criticised the inclusion of the city of Kirkuk in the referendum.

    He said that Kurds had no legitimacy there.

    Iran and Turkey have already threatened to join Baghdad in imposing economic sanctions on Iraqi Kurdistan and have launched joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on their borders after northern Iraq’s independence referendum last month.

    In September, Russian oil major Rosneft had clinched a gas pipeline deal in Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan to help it become a major exporter of gas to Turkey and Europe.

    The pipeline will be constructed in 2019 and exports will begin in 2020.

    NAN

  • 17 Turkish journalists go on trial for waging ‘asymmetric war’

    17 Turkish journalists go on trial for waging ‘asymmetric war’

    Seventeen employees of a Turkish opposition newspaper went on trial on Monday accused of supporting a terrorist group, a case seen by government critics as a further sign that freedom of expression is under attack.

    “Journalism is not a crime,” chanted several hundred people gathered outside the central Istanbul court to protest against the prosecution of writers, executives and lawyers of the staunchly secularist Cumhuriyet newspaper.

    The hearing coincides with an escalating dispute with Germany over the arrest in Turkey of 10 rights activists, including one German, as part of a crackdown since 2016’s attempted coup against President Tayyip Erdogan.

    Turkish prosecutors were seeking up to 43 years in jail for staff from the paper, including some of Turkey’s best-known journalists, who are accused of targeting Erdogan through “asymmetric war methods”.

    “According to the government, everyone in opposition is a terrorist, the only non-terrorists are themselves,’’ Filiz Kerestecioglu, a member of parliament from the pro-Kurdish opposition party, told newsmen ahead of the trial.

    According to the 324-page indictment, Cumhuriyet was effectively taken over by the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, blamed for the failed putsch last July, and used to “veil the actions of terrorist groups”.

    However, Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup.

    The newspaper has called the charges “imaginary accusations and slander”.

    Social media posts comprised the bulk of evidence in the indictment, along with allegations that staff had been in contact with users of Bylock, an encrypted messaging app the government says was used by Gulen’s followers.

    Rights groups and Turkey’s Western allies have complained of deteriorating human rights under Erdogan.

    In the crackdown since July 2016’s failed coup, 50,000 people have been jailed pending trial and some 150,000 detained or dismissed from their jobs.

    According to the Turkish Journalists’ Association, as part of the purge some 150 media outlets have been shut down and around 160 journalists are in jail.

    The crackdown has strained Turkey’s ties with the European Union, but reaction from the bloc has been restrained because it depends on Turkey to curb the flow of migrants and refugees into Europe.

    However Europe’s leading power, Germany, has stepped up pressure in recent days, threatening measures that could hinder German investment in Turkey and reviewing Turkish applications for arms deals.

    Turkish authorities say the crackdown is justified by the gravity of the coup attempt, in which rogue soldiers tried to overthrow the government and Erdogan, killing 250 people, most of them civilians.

    Cumhuriyet is accused of writing stories that serve “separatist manipulation”.

    The newspaper’s editor Murat Sabuncu and other senior staff have been in pre-trial detention since being arrested in November.

    Other defendants include well-known columnist Kadri Gursel and Ahmet Sik, who once wrote a book critical of Gulen’s movement.

    Former editor Can Dundar, who is living in Germany, is being tried in absentia.

  • Turkey dismisses 227 judges, prosecutors

    Turkey dismisses 227 judges, prosecutors

    Turkey’s top judicial body on Monday dismissed 227 judges and prosecutors who are accused of having links to a cleric blamed for last year’s coup attempt, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

    Since the failed coup in July 2016, 3,886 members of the judiciary have been expelled.

    The government blames the putsch on Fethullah Gulen, a U.S.-based Turkish preacher and one-time ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his followers. Gulen denies the accusations.

    Turkey has jailed more than 43,000 people since July on allegations of ties to the Gulenist movement and fired tens of thousands of civil servants and members of the security forces.

    Trials have started in the cases of soldiers who took part in the coup, with some denying they have links to Gulen, according to local media reports from the courts.

    Turkey heads to a referendum on April 16 in which voters will decide on whether to expand Erdogan’s powers.
    Opposition groups warn checks and balances would be eroded.

  • Trial of Turkish coup plotters starts

    Trial of Turkish coup plotters starts

    The first court case against suspected plotters of the July 15 coup attempted in Turkey is taking place in Istanbul Tuesday, with 29 former policemen standing trial, broadcast CNN Turk reported.

    A life sentence is possible for 21 of the officers accused of attempting to overthrow the Recep Erdoğan led Government, while eight could get up to 15 years in jail for membership in a terrorist organisation.

    The accused are charged with seeking to overthrow the government as well as allegedly being members of the group led by U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gulen who the authorities accused of leading the plot.

    Gulen, who Ankara wants to see extradited from the U.S., vehemently denies the charges.

    The trial got under way with the reading out of the names of the accused and judge Fikret Demir reading the indictment, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

    This was expected to be followed by arguments for the defence. Initial hearings are expected to last until Friday.

    Amid tight security, special forces in camouflage gear stood guard outside the courthouse.

    Those accused are alleged to have refused to protect President Erdogan’s residence in Istanbul on the night of the coup.

    More than 40,000 suspects have been detained in relation to the coup, according to official sources.