Turkish police have sealed six student dormitory buildings belonging to an Islamist group whose leader, Alparslan Kuytul, is critical of the Turkish government, according to a report by the critical Yeni Asya daily.
Online news outlet Ahval reported that police in Turkey’s Adana province also shut down the headquarters and three branch buildings belonging to the Furkan Foundation, which is under investigation for allegedly threatening the constitutional order and public security as well as for constituting a criminal group.
Some pro-government journalists reacted to a story that women were thrown out of their homes after they were sealed.
The group, led by the charismatic, Egyptian-educated theologian Kuytul, campaigned against a change from a parliamentary to a presidential system of governance when it was put to a referendum last year. On Jan. 30, 2018, police raided 33 locations and arrested 28 foundation directors and members of the group, including Kuytul.
Kuytul and four others were put in pretrial detention.
Kuytul made the headlines when he called the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) the “Development with Oppression Party [ZKP].”
“I think it is time to change the AKP’s name to the ZKP. If they want to sue me, they can sue me, I don’t care. Most of the bribery and cruelty cases happened during their time. They named themselves the Justice and Development Party, but they didn’t leave any justice in this country. Who has trust in the courts in this country? The ones who are trusted should be the ones who never have anything to do with courts,” he said.
