Turkish courts have arrested 126 people out of more than 350 detained last week as part of an investigation into a popular döner restaurant chain over alleged links to the faith-based Gülen movement, Turkish Minute reported.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced the operation last Friday, claiming that the detainees — including six business partners of the company, its employees and 10 public servants — were involved in financially supporting the group.
The Gülen movement, which has suffered a relentless crackdown by the Turkish government over the past decade, has faced various accusations from the government, including masterminding corruption investigations in 2013 and a coup attempt in July 2016.
The Turkish government designated Turkish-Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and his movement as terrorists in May 2016. The movement, inspired by the views of the Gülen, who died in Pennsylvania last October, strongly denies the accusations.
The number of detainees initially stood at 353 but later increased to 372 following operations across 32 provinces. Of those, 126 — including four civil servants — have been formally arrested, while 156 were released under judicial supervision.
According to the Interior Ministry, the operation against the restaurant chain, led by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office in southern Turkey, began a year and a half ago. The investigation was reportedly launched based on allegations from a former employee, identified as R.Ö. in the Turkish media.
R.Ö., who worked as a waiter at one of the restaurants, reportedly filed a complaint with the Presidential Communications Center (CİMER), a government platform for public grievances. He claimed he was hired based on the reference of a person linked to the Gülen movement and alleged that civil servants dismissed by government decrees after the coup attempt regularly held meetings at his workplace.
The company, established in 2018 by businessman Ömer Şeyhin, grew rapidly, opening more than 400 restaurants across Turkey and several abroad.
According to Turkish authorities, the company operated under a franchise system that allegedly allowed individuals previously investigated for Gülen links to enter into unofficial partnerships in exchange for payments. These new partners reportedly needed references from within the movement. Authorities claim franchise locations provided employment and financial support to Gülen-linked individuals, with a portion of the revenue directed to the group.
Further investigations by Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) allegedly found that the company was financed through individuals with no criminal records, disguising these transactions as “product purchases” to transfer money to suspected Gülen members.
The Turkish government has since appointed trustees to 22 franchise locations of Maydonoz Döner following the detentions, a practice widely used after the 2016 coup attempt to seize businesses linked to the Gülen movement.
Meanwhile, the company issued a statement Tuesday, saying it continues to operate without interruption following the appointment of trustees. It added that the company’s new board of directors is taking measures “to prevent commercial activities from being interrupted in our 416 branches.”
The operation is part of a broader crackdown on alleged Gülen supporters, with the government continuing to target individuals and businesses suspected of being connected to the group.
Since the coup attempt, at least 705,172 people have been investigated on terrorism or coup-related charges due to their alleged links to the movement. There are currently at least 13,251 people in prison as a result of pretrial detention or convictions related to terrorism in Gülen-linked trials.
A report last year titled “Persecutory Confiscation Amounting to Crimes Against Humanity: Case of the Gülen Group” exposed the vast scale of property confiscations in Turkey targeting the movement, with an estimated value of $50 billion and affecting over 1.5 million people in what the authors call systematic and widespread violations of domestic and international law that amount to “crimes against humanity.”
