Islam and politics

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has accused a Turkish court of taking orders from U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen to release 75 policemen and a media manager who were accused of planning to overthrow the government.

A Turkish court has ordered the release of 75 policemen and a media manager who were accused of belonging to ?the parallel state? of the government?s ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gülen, a U.S. based cleric, but a judge reversed the decision late April 25 as a chief prosecutor also intervened.

A Turkish court has ordered the release of 75 policemen and a media manager who were accused of belonging to ?the parallel state? of the government?s ally-turned-foe Fethullah Gülen, a U.S. based cleric, but a judge reversed the decision late April 25 as a chief prosecutor also intervened.

A former Turkish prosecutor on April 25 claimed that he was facing a life sentence on terror charges for retweeting a leaked tape that implicated President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and his son in corruption.
 

Seventeen police officers, including two former Istanbul senior police officers, who had been detained in a probe into the ?parallel state,? were arrested late April 20 on grounds of ?partially attempting to obstruct the Turkish Republic from doing its job.? 

Arrest warrants for 29 police officers in a probe against the ?parallel state? on charges of illegal wiretapping, espionage and forgery have been issued by an Istanbul prosecution office, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has pledged full support to Turkey?s police force against any attempts to weaken it, in reference to the government?s fight against the Fethullah Gülen community, believed to have created a ?parallel? state within the police and judiciary. 

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu has emphasized the importance of maintaining a delicate balance between freedom and security, as he pledged his government would protect the freedoms of the Turkish people without jeopardizing their security.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor?s Office has finalized the draft of an indictment arguing it has found ?concrete evidence? that sympathizers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen were trying to form a ?cemaat state? parallel to the state of the Republic of Turkey. It has also charged seven people for leaking information and documents to criminal organizations.

Fifteen Turkish ecological activists could face up to seven-and-a-half years in jail after prosecutors charged them with public order offences over protests against the construction of a mosque in Istanbul last year, judicial sources said April 9.