The Gülen movement is a worldwide civic initiative rooted in the spiritual and humanistic tradition of Islam and inspired by the ideas of Fethullah Gülen, a Muslim cleric resident in the US. The bases of the movement are diverse service projects that are initiated, funded and conducted by people who are motivated by Gülen’s humanitarian discourse.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the movement since the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, which implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan, his family members and his inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He locked up thousands, including many prosecutors, judges and police officers involved in the investigations.
Some of the claims that were part of the corruption investigations were later substantiated in New York federal court where Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla was sentenced to 32 months for conspiring to violate US sanctions on Iran and other offenses.
Erdoğan intensified the crackdown on the movement following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the movement strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist activity.
Following the failed coup, the Turkish government carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. More than 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, as well as 24,706 members of the armed forces were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.
Such daily activities as having an account at or depositing money in a Gülen movement-affiliated bank, working at any institution linked to the movement or subscribing to certain newspapers and magazines were accepted as benchmarks for identifying and arresting alleged members of the movement.
According to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ, a total of 117,208 people have been convicted while more than 600,000 have been the subject of investigation in Turkey due to alleged links to the Gülen movement since the coup attempt.
Ali Babacan, leader of the opposition Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) and a former heavyweight of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has claimed that President Erdoğan ordered officials to “show no mercy” in the government crackdown following the failed coup and to not care about separating the guilty from the innocent.
During the year Erdoğan continued to relentlessly pursue anyone with alleged links with the movement. They have been targets of hate speech, hate crimes, unlawful prosecution, torture and abductions, among other serious human rights violations.
Here are some of the most important news from 2022 concerning Erdoğan’s crackdown on the Gülen movement:
Decisions and reports by international organizations and foreign governments
UN committee faulted Turkey in case of teacher who died in custody after arrest over Gülen links
The United Nations Human Rights Committee released its decision concerning an application submitted on behalf of a teacher who was allegedly tortured in police custody and subsequently died during a post-coup purge in August 2016, saying the state violated his rights and the rights of his family under several articles of the UN’s International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). More..
Turkey’s post-coup detention of judges and prosecutors was unlawful: ECtHR
In September, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the pretrial detention of 230 judges and prosecutors after a failed 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was unlawful, holding that Turkey is to pay 5,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages to every applicant. More..
In October, the ECtHR ruled that Turkey violated the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by detaining 167 judges and prosecutors after the failed coup attempt. More..
In December, the Strasbourg court ruled that Turkey violated the ECHR by detaining 82 judges and prosecutors after the coup attempt in 2016, holding that Turkish government is to pay each applicant 5,000 euros in non-pecuniary damages. More…
UN committee found rights violations in case of teacher arrested over Gülen links, calls for her release
The UN Human Rights Committee has called on Turkey to release a teacher who was arrested in 2018 over alleged links to a faith-based group and pay her damages since the arrest violated her rights under several articles of the UN’s ICCPR. More..
UN committee sought further information from Turkey in case of missing Yusuf Bilge Tunç
The UN Human Rights Committee requested further information from Turkey in the case of former civil servant Yusuf Bilge Tunç, who has been missing since August 2019 and is believed to have been abducted by Turkish intelligence. More..
However, the ECtHR has rejected an application claiming that Turkish authorities failed to carry out an effective investigation into the case of Tunç. More…
ILO questioned post-coup dismissals of union members, lack of reinstatement to jobs
The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations said in a recent report that it notes with concern the high number of rejections by a body established in Turkey after a failed coup to investigate appeals against the dismissal of some 130,000 civil servants by emergency decrees, stating that it has requested information from the Turkish government about the trade union members whose cases were rejected. More..
Turkey violated prisoners’ rights by not granting visits for schoolchildren on weekends: ECtHR
The ECtHR ruled that Turkish authorities violated the ECHR by not allowing prison visits on weekends as weekday visits conflicted with children’s school schedule and interfered with prisoners’ family life, deciding that Turkey was to pay each of the 19 applicants 1,500 euros in non-pecuniary damages. More..
ECtHR ruled Turkey violated prisoners’ rights by uploading their correspondence to judicial network server
The ECtHR has ruled that Turkey violated the right to respect for private life of 14 inmates by uploading their incoming and outgoing correspondence onto the National Judicial Network Server (Ulusal Yargı Ağı Bilişim Sistemi or UYAP). More..
Top Swedish court refused to extradite Gülen-linked former principal to Turkey
The Supreme Court of Sweden refused Turkey’s request to extradite a former principal who used to work at a school affiliated with the Gülen movement in Afghanistan on the grounds that his actions do not constitute any elements of a crime under Swedish law. More..
Brazilian court refused to extradite Gülen-linked businessman to Turkey
Brazil’s Supreme Court rejected an extradition request from Turkey for a businessman due to his links to the movement, saying there is no guarantee the businessman will receive a fair trial if he is extradited. More..
Belgian law firm to take alleged crimes against humanity by Turkish officials to ICC
Johan Vande Lanotte, a legal counsel from the Belgian-based law firm Van Steenbrugge Advocaten (VSA) and a professor of law at the University of Ghent, told Belgian media that lawyers from VSA are going to take evidence of crimes against humanity perpetrated by Turkish state officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC). More..
Ongoing purge
1.7 mln investigations launched in Turkey on terrorism allegations over past 5 years
More than 1.7 million investigations were launched into people in Turkey on allegations of membership in an armed terrorist organization between 2016 and 2021, opposition lawmaker Mustafa Yeneroğlu said, citing Justice Ministry data. More..
24,706 expelled from Turkish military since coup attempt: minister
Turkey’s defense minister has announced that 24,706 personnel from the Turkish Armed Forces have been expelled over Gülen links since the failed coup. More..
Number of Gülen followers in İstanbul prison surpassed all others jailed on terrorism charges
The number of inmates in İstanbul’s notorious Marmara Prison who are imprisoned on alleged links to the Gülen movement exceeds all other inmates in the prison who are jailed pending trial or convicted on terrorism charges.
The name of the former Silivri Prison, where mostly political prisoners are jailed, was recently changed to Marmara Prison. More..
662 employees expelled from foreign ministry in post-coup purge: minister
Turkey has seen the expulsion of 662 personnel from its foreign ministry as part of a purge launched by the government in the aftermath of the failed coup. More..
