Several pro-government newspapers have ran stories in which they accused the US attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara as being part of a “parallel structure,” a derogatory term used for the faith-based Gülen movement, after the prosecutor came to public attention last week for bringing charges against a controversial Turkish-Iranian businessman, Reza Zarrab.
HRW says Zaman takeover aims to eradicate opposition, calls on Turkish gov’t to reverse it
The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said a ruling by an İstanbul court to appoint trustees to Turkey’s largest media group, Feza Media Group, is the yet another attempt by the government to eradicate opposition by silencing critical media, calling on authorities to reverse the action.
Leaked emails reveal Erdoğan’s son-in-law’s team fabricated news against Gülen in US
An email included in Wikileaks’ Monday publication of the leaked emails of Berat Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law and Turkey’s minister of energy, shows that Albayrak fabricated news with pro-government people in the United States in order to defame the Gülen movement in the US media.
Seized Gülen dormitory ransacked, becomes home to junkies
A private dormitory in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district has become home to junkies and has been ransacked by unknown parties on multiple occasions since the residence was seized as part of an investigation into the Gülen movement in the aftermath of a coup attempt.
Turkey’s Religious Directorate says profiled expats via mosques in 38 countries
Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has gathered intelligence from imams in 38 countries on the activities of suspected followers of the Gülen movement, according to the Hürriyet Daily News.
Teacher making students pose with nooses sparks outrage
As a note to the photo he wrote, “We want justice.”
The teacher, identified as Aydın Erekmen, posted the controversial photo in the aftermath of twin bomb attacks in İstanbul on Saturday night that claimed the lives of 44 people and injured more than 160 others.
Belgian justice minister orders close scrutiny of Diyanet mosques amid spying claims
Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens has announced that he has ordered security and intelligence units in the country to closely monitor mosques operated by the Turkish Religious Affairs Directorate, or Diyanet, amid reports that the Diyanet asked imams to spy and inform on Belgians of Turkish origin suspected of being active in the faith-based Gülen movement.
Turkey censors textbooks that include word ‘Pennsylvania’
As part of an ongoing purge of anything that could remotely be associated with Turkish Muslim scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has been in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, Turkey’s Education Ministry has destroyed 892,000 textbooks that include the word “Pennsylvania” on the basis of it promoting “terrorist propaganda.”
Turkey’s Religious Directorate-funded German mosque bans entry for Gülen followers
A mosque funded by Turkey’s Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) in the German city of Schweinfurt has banned entry to followers of the Gülen movement, inspired by the views of US-based Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen, who the Turkish government accuses of masterminding a failed coup in July.
According to a decision made by the executive committee of the Schweinfurt Central Mosque on Dec. 17, members of FETO, a derogatory term and acronym for the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, coined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government to refer to the Gülen movement, will not be permitted to enter the mosque premises and the mosque membership of those determined to be FETO members will be cancelled.
“Entry banned for traitor and enemy of religion FETO members, supporters of Schweinfurt Central Mosque. The membership of those who are determined to be the members of the FETO terror organization will be cancelled,” a leaflet hung on the gate of the mosque stated.
Pro-Erdoğan media immediately blames Gülen movement for murder of Russian ambassador
Immediately following the discovery that the gunman who shot the Russian ambassador to Turkey on Monday evening was a police officer, the pro-government media was quick to put the blame on the Gülen movement.
