Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former political ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who became the authoritarian leader’s nemesis, died in a U.S. hospital from an unspecified ailment on Sunday at the age of 83.
President Joe Biden met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on Tuesday and praised the authoritarian Turkish leader for having the “courage” to stop blocking Sweden from joining the alliance.
Turkish nationalist presidential candidate Sinan Ogan, who finished in third place with 5.2 percent of the vote in the May 14 presidential election, announced on Monday that he will throw his support behind incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 28 runoff election.
A court in Turkey on Thursday sentenced 475 defendants to lengthy prison terms, in many cases handing down multiple life sentences, in a mass trial for “traitors” accused of participating in the 2016 attempt to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Turkey issued hundreds of new detention warrants this week for alleged followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, portrayed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the mastermind of the failed 2016 coup attempt against him.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Monday that Greece categorically rejects “unacceptable preconditions” from Turkey for the return of two Greek soldiers arrested on the Turkish side of the border in March.
As he prepared to wrap up a visit to Cairo that included a landmark visit to the Coptic Christian St. Mark’s Cathedral, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman threw another jab at Islamists by describing them as one side of a “triangle of evil” that includes Iran… and Turkey.
Turkey’s Culture Minister Numan Kurtulmus reported to his parliament on Tuesday that some 140,000 books have been removed from libraries for “including propaganda of FETO.” FETO stands for Fethullah Terrorist Organization, which is the Turkish government’s name for followers of exiled imam Fethullah Gulen.
Contents: Erdogan tells Turks living in Germany not to vote for Angela Merkel; Germany accuses Erdogan of extortion by ‘hostage diplomacy’
Turkey added another 24 arrests on Friday, to the 50,000 or so people detained after the July 2016 coup attempt. A total of 40 arrest warrants were written based on the lengthy investigation of an alleged plot by followers of exiled imam Fethullah Gulen to infiltrate the police force.
Contents: Relations between Germany and Turkey spiral into crisis; Turkey commemorates first anniversary of attempted coup
According to a Turkish media report, Interpol blocked Turkey from accessing its criminal database after the Turks uploaded about 60,000 individuals wanted for the “crime” of having connections to exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, one-time friend and now arch-enemy of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In remarks from Ankara on Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was harshly critical of the U.S. arrest warrants for twelve of his bodyguards.
Exiled imam Fethullah Gulen, blamed by the Turkish government for masterminding last July’s coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, penned an op-ed for the Washington Post on the eve of Erdogan’s visit to the Trump White House in which he described his nemesis as an aspiring dictator.
“One thousand and nine secret imams have been detained so far in 72 provinces, and the operation is ongoing,” Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced in an Ankara press conference on Wednesday.
Turkey has arrested more than 1,600 people accused of being linked to the failed military coup in July 2016, including 1,218 suspected followers of the U.S.-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
Contents: Man who shot Russia’s ambassador in Turkey was in security forces; Turkey and Russia blame Fethullah Gulen and the US for the assassination; Both Turkey and Russia stand to gain by blaming US for assassination
Contents: US VP Biden snubbed by Turkey’s angry president Erdogan; North Korea lays land mines to prevent soldiers from defecting; UN Security Council has emergency meeting on North Korea missile tests
Contents: Turkey’s downward spiral continues with massive wedding terror attack; Report: US military moving nuclear weapons from Turkey to Romania; Turkey’s Erdogan announces a complete U-turn on Syria policy
Controversial Muslim cleric and Texas charter school bigwig Fethullah Gülen is a wanted man. The Republic of Turkey demanded two life sentences plus another 1,900 years in prison for the reclusive Pennsylvania-based imam Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused of masterminding July’s failed coup.
Turkey has been seen as among the most stable governments and economies in the Middle East. Both of those assessments have drastically changed.
