Latest news with #Gulen
Euractiv
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
European court says Turkey did not provide ‘fair trial' in app use case
The ECHR condemned on Tuesday "the domestic courts' categorical approach to the use of ByLock". "Under that approach, anyone whose use of ByLock was established by the domestic courts could, in principle, be convicted on that sole basis of membership in an armed terrorist organisation," the Strasbourg-based court said. Gulen, a cleric who died in 2024, was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before the two became bitter enemies. He relocated to the United States in 1999 and never returned. Ankara considers ByLock to be the preferred communication tool of those allegedly responsible for the failed coup in 2016, which left 250 people dead and was followed by mass arrests and purges on a scale unprecedented in Turkey's modern history. Authorities have detained more than 25,000 people accused of belonging to the Hizmet movement since then, some 9,000 of whom have been held in custody, according to the Istanbul prosecutor's office. ECHR sees 'a systemic problem' It noted "a systemic problem" affecting a large number of people that must be resolved at the national level. Since the Grand Chamber's 2023 judgment, "the court has already given notice to the respondent government of 5,000 similar applications, and thousands more are still accumulating on its docket," the ECHR added. As of late June, Turkey had 21,050 pending applications to the court – which make up 35% of the total – followed Russia with 8,050 applications (13.4%) and Ukraine with 7,300 (12.1%). (vib)
Express Tribune
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Turkey arrests 158 military staff
Turkish police on Tuesday arrested 158 members of the military suspected of links to Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of masterminding a failed 2016 coup, the public prosecutor's office in Istanbul said. Gulen, a cleric who died in 2024, was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the two became bitter enemies. He relocated to the United States in 1999 and never returned. The government accuses Gulen's Hizmet movement of seeking to establish a "parallel state". Around 50 other members of the military were arrested in late May. The prosecutor's office said that a search was still underway for another 18 members of the military.
The Hindu
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Turkey arrests 158 military staff suspected of links to Erdogan foe
Turkish police on Tuesday (June 24, 2025) arrested 158 members of the military suspected of links to Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of masterminding a failed 2016 coup, the public prosecutor's office in Istanbul said. Gulen, a cleric who died in 2024, was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the two became bitter enemies. He relocated to the United States in 1999 and never returned. The government accuses Gulen's Hizmet movement of seeking to establish a "parallel state". Around 50 other members of the military were arrested in late May. The prosecutor's office said that a search was still underway for another 18 members of the military. It said that the arrests mainly concerned the army. Authorities have detained close to 26,000 people accused of belonging to the Hizmet movement since the 2016 failed coup. More than 9,000 of them have been jailed, according to Turkish justice authorities.
The Sun
24-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Turkey arrests 158 military suspected of links to Erdogan foe
ISTANBUL: Turkish police on Tuesday arrested 158 members of the military suspected of links to Fethullah Gulen, who was accused of masterminding a failed 2016 coup, the public prosecutor's office in Istanbul said. Gulen, a cleric who died in 2024, was once a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the two became bitter enemies. He relocated to the United States in 1999 and never returned. The government accuses Gulen's Hizmet movement of seeking to establish a 'parallel state'. Around 50 other members of the military were arrested in late May. The prosecutor's office said that a search was still underway for another 18 members of the military. It said that the arrests mainly concerned the army. Authorities have detained close to 26,000 people accused of belonging to the Hizmet movement since the 2016 failed coup. More than 9,000 of them have been jailed, according to Turkish justice authorities.
Arab Times
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab Times
Turkish prosecutors target 63 members of military over ties to a 2016 coup attempt
ISTANBUL, May 24, (AP): Prosecutors in Turkey issued arrest warrants for 63 active-duty military personnel Friday over links to a group accused of attempting a coup in 2016. Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office said the suspects included four colonels and came from the army, navy, air force and gendarmerie. Early morning raids across the country resulted in 56 suspects being detained. They are allegedly tied to an outlawed group that Turkey refers to as the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO. Its leader, Fethullah Gulen, died in October last year in the United States, where he had lived since 1999 in self-imposed exile. Some 290 people were killed in July 2016 when rogue military units took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul in a bid to depose the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Jet fighters bombed the parliament building and presidential palace while Erdogan narrowly escaped assassination or capture while vacationing on the west coast. A subsequent purge of the military, police, judiciary and other state agencies saw tens of thousands arrested. Schools, businesses and media organizations tied to Gulen were closed down. The prosecutor's statement said those targeted Friday were identified through telephone communications and said FETO still posed the "greatest threat to the constitutional order and survival of the state.' Since the failed coup, 25,801 military suspects have been detained, it added. The statement did not specify the exact charges against the suspects. Gulen, a former cleric, amassed a worldwide following over decades and aided Erdogan's rise to power in 2003. The alliance broke down after the government closed some Gulen-run educational establishments and Gulenists in the police and judiciary pursued corruption allegations against Erdogan's government. Gulen always denied any involvement in the failed coup. He was wanted in Turkey, which repeatedly demanded his extradition from the US. The coup attempt contributed to the acceleration of authoritarian tendencies in Turkey, with Erdogan's government implementing measures that consolidated his powers.
