An Ankara court has ordered the arrest of three suspects linked with the Gülen Movement for their alleged involvement in illegal wiretapping activities. Former Ankara Deputy Police Chief Muharrem Durmaz and officers Mustafa Çelik and Osman Gülbel have been sent to prison, pending trial.
The Gülen Movement is a transnational movement led by the U.S.-based imam Fethullah Gülen who lives in self-imposed exile in rural Pennsylvania. It is accused of wiretapping thousands of people, including government officials and encrypted phones. It has over 140 private schools around the world including in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa. It has been accused of infiltrating state institutions in Turkey and trying to overthrow the government.
Government officials have continuously expressed their determination to continue to lawfully fight the Gülen Movement, whose followers are accused of infiltrating state institutions to gain control of state mechanisms and illegal wiretapping, forgery of official documents and spying.
