Istanbul court issues detention warrants for 20 suspects in Tahşiye case


An Istanbul court on Wednesday issued detention warrants for 20 suspects allegedly affiliated with Gülen Movement in Tahşiye case under the scope of an investigation carried out in 16 Turkish provinces. The suspects accused in the case include police officers who had allegedly placed bombs in a house where the Tahşiye group, -which is known to be a branch of the Nur Movement- used to hold gatherings. It was reported that the owner of the house has stated that the police officers entered his house while he was in the washroom and placed bombs on the sofa and claimed that the bombs belonged to the Tahşiye group. The members of the Tahşiye group are Sunni Muslims who follow the Hanafi school of thought. The group along with its leader, Mehmet Doğan, a former imam, are known for their opposition to the Gülen Movement and have a firmer stance against interfaith dialogue compared to other movements.Fethullah Gülen who lives in a self-imposed exile in the U.S., was the first one to make a reference to the group as "Tahşiye" in 2009. In 2010, the police launched an operation against the Tahşiye group, where 122 members of the group were detained and Doğan was imprisoned for 17 months. Doğan, who is also known as "Molla Muhammet," was allegedly against some of Gülen's ideologies.Prior to the operation, in a speech on April 6, 2009, Gülen denounced the Tahşiye group by saying the group would be used by domestic and international powers as a tool to threaten national security, similar to the Kurdish (or Turkish) Hezbollah of the 1990's and al-Qaida.Following Gülen's speech, Zaman daily made references to the issue, along with other media outlets close to the movement.Gülenist channel Samanyolu TV depicted the Tahşiye group as a terrorist organization in TV series "Tek Türkiye" (One Turkey).Turkish police launched an operation throughout the country targeting al-Qaida members on January 22, 2010. The operations also allegedly included raids on the Tahşiye group by police officers close to the Gülen movement.After 17 months of imprisonment, Doğan pressed charges against the Gülen Movement. The suspects have been detained under allegations of fabricating fake evidence for Doğan's imprisonment as well as for "plotting and scheming."The prosecutor issued warrants for the Gülenist suspects on the grounds of "establishing and managing an armed terror organization" in Turkey.All suspects who were detained and face detentions now are allegedly linked with Gülen and the Gülen Movement.