Islamism in Turkey

Some 3,000 police officers who were dismissed with previous statutory decrees can now be reinstated, as archives seized during an anti-Gülen operation showed that they were in fact blacklisted by the Gülen movement, widely believed to have orchestrated the July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Turkish prosecutors have demanded 3,623 aggravated life sentences for the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, as a total of all cases filed against him. 

In addition to the aggravated life terms, the prosecutors also sought 2,923 years in jail for Gülen, widely believed to have been behind the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, daily Yeni Şafak reported on May 8.

Police forces detained a former lawmaker from Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Ahmet Tevfik Uzun, early on May 8 in the southern province of Mersin over suspected links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

Teams carried out searches in Uzun's house and office, during which documents were seized.

There are nearly 3,900 "imams" from the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen in the police, according to a chip recently confiscated by the police. 

The name of the off-duty police officer who killed Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov in December 2016 has appeared in the archives seized during April 26 raids on alleged "secret imams" of the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) within the police forces. 

A delegation from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on April 28 visited jailed daily Cumhuriyet journalists and executives in Istanbul's Silivri Prison. 

CHP deputy leader Veli Ağbaba, Ankara lawmakers Necati Yılmaz and Şenal Sarıhan and Muğla deputy Nurettin Demir compiled a report with messages from the arrested journalists and executives after their visit. 

Some 3,974 public officials were dismissed with two new state of emergency decrees published in the Official Gazette on April 29. 

An Istanbul court on April 27 accepted a prosecutor's indictment against 30 former Zaman Media Group employees, including editors and columnists, on charges of possessing links to the movement of U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, the main suspect in the July 2016 coup attempt.    

Some 1,120 people suspected of links to the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) were detained in simultaneous raids across Turkey on April 26, in an operation mainly targeting the structure of the organization within the police forces.

Over 1,000 people suspected of links to the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) were detained in simultaneous raids across Turkey on April 26, in an operation targeting the structure of the organization within the police forces.