Fresh crackdown on Gülenists, bureaucracy purge in the works
Turkey's relentless fight against the Gülen Movement, a religious cult that evolved into a terrorist organization, continues with new detentions and plans to weed out the group's infiltrators within the state.
An array of Gülenists, mostly high-ranking figures within the cult, are facing charges for two attempts to overthrow the government, organizing sham trials to imprison critics, money-laundering, illegal wiretapping and a number of other crimes. Headed by fugitive former cleric Fethullah Gülen, the Gülen Movement has been facing a nationwide crackdown since 2013, the year they openly declared war against the state with coup attempts by infiltrators within the police and judiciary.
Yesterday, police in seven cities detained 39 suspects in operations against the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ), an offshoot of the movement designated as "a national threat" by the state, a description reserved for terrorist organizations. Early on Monday morning in the city of Kayseri in central Anatolia, the northern city of Amasya, and the southern cities of Adana and Mersin, police raided the residences and workplaces of suspects linked to FETÖ. Businesspeople and company executives were among the detainees accused of membership of a terrorist organization and financing the terrorist organizations. Ten suspects remain at large. Detentions, following instructions from prosecutors, stem from allegedly fraudulent charity schemes that took money taken from followers and an unsuspecting public and funneled through companies linked to the group towards Gülenists' illegal activities. In Adana and Mersin, authorities appointed trustees to schools and dormitories belonging to the movement as part of the crackdown. The Gülen Movement runs a vast network of schools in Turkey and around the world.
Although operations are held on an almost daily basis, it is believed that Gülenists still hold key positions in the bureaucracy, police and judiciary, which they infiltrated decades ago. The government plans to amend a much-criticized law that hinders the prosecution of civil servants involved in crimes, as reported by Sabah newspaper. Article 657, a law that regulates public sector employment, will soon undergo major amendments to cut off the infiltration into the bureaucracy by suspected Gülenists'. Amendments will reduce the red tape required to expel civil servants linked to the movement, while members of "illegal structures disguised as legal entities" will not be given employment. This phrase is used to describe FETÖ's activities. Although the cult is publicly known for running a large number of companies, schools and other institutions, it is able to cover its tracks by registering them with people not related to the Movement.
Authorities have expelled or reassigned hundreds of officials over the past three years for their links to the Gülen Movement, and several others including former police chiefs are facing lawsuits in a number of cases linked to the movement, from a cover-up in the murder of a prominent journalist in 2007 to the wiretapping of hundreds of people for alleged purpose of blackmail.
An array of Gülenists, mostly high-ranking figures within the cult, are facing charges for two attempts to overthrow the government, organizing sham trials to imprison critics, money-laundering, illegal wiretapping and a number of other crimes. Headed by fugitive former cleric Fethullah Gülen, the Gülen Movement has been facing a nationwide crackdown since 2013, the year they openly declared war against the state with coup attempts by infiltrators within the police and judiciary.
Yesterday, police in seven cities detained 39 suspects in operations against the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ), an offshoot of the movement designated as "a national threat" by the state, a description reserved for terrorist organizations. Early on Monday morning in the city of Kayseri in central Anatolia, the northern city of Amasya, and the southern cities of Adana and Mersin, police raided the residences and workplaces of suspects linked to FETÖ. Businesspeople and company executives were among the detainees accused of membership of a terrorist organization and financing the terrorist organizations. Ten suspects remain at large. Detentions, following instructions from prosecutors, stem from allegedly fraudulent charity schemes that took money taken from followers and an unsuspecting public and funneled through companies linked to the group towards Gülenists' illegal activities. In Adana and Mersin, authorities appointed trustees to schools and dormitories belonging to the movement as part of the crackdown. The Gülen Movement runs a vast network of schools in Turkey and around the world.
Although operations are held on an almost daily basis, it is believed that Gülenists still hold key positions in the bureaucracy, police and judiciary, which they infiltrated decades ago. The government plans to amend a much-criticized law that hinders the prosecution of civil servants involved in crimes, as reported by Sabah newspaper. Article 657, a law that regulates public sector employment, will soon undergo major amendments to cut off the infiltration into the bureaucracy by suspected Gülenists'. Amendments will reduce the red tape required to expel civil servants linked to the movement, while members of "illegal structures disguised as legal entities" will not be given employment. This phrase is used to describe FETÖ's activities. Although the cult is publicly known for running a large number of companies, schools and other institutions, it is able to cover its tracks by registering them with people not related to the Movement.
Authorities have expelled or reassigned hundreds of officials over the past three years for their links to the Gülen Movement, and several others including former police chiefs are facing lawsuits in a number of cases linked to the movement, from a cover-up in the murder of a prominent journalist in 2007 to the wiretapping of hundreds of people for alleged purpose of blackmail.