It is deeply disappointing to see what has become of Turkey in the last few years. Not long ago, it was the envy of Muslim-majority countries: a viab… - Fethullah Gülen

I have seen all the military coups of Turkey and, like all Turkish people, I have experienced great suffering in all of them. After the coup of March 12, 1971, I was imprisoned by the decision of the junta administration. During the coup of September 12, 1980, an arrest warrant was issued for me and I lived on the run for 6 years. After the military coup of February 28, 1997, a lawsuit was filed against me on the charge of "one-man unarmed terrorist organization" and the death penalty was requested. During periods of military oppression, a lawsuit was filed three times on the charge of "leadership of a terrorist organization". I was acquitted of all these cases. While yesterday I was targeted by military governments with an authoritarian mentality, today I am being subjected to the same accusations, in a much more unlawful manner, by a civilian autocratic regime.

Speaking against oppression is a democratic right, a civic duty and for believers, a religious obligation. The Quran makes clear that people should not remain silent in the face of injustice: “O you who believe! Be upholders and standard-bearers of justice, bearing witness to the truth for God’s sake, even though it be against your own selves, or parents or kindred.”

As a matter of fact, the institutions that the Turkish Government closed down by declaring the Hizmet movement a terrorist organization as a political decision are schools, hospitals and humanitarian aid associations. The Hizmet volunteers, tens of thousands of whom have been detained and arrested, are teachers, entrepreneurs, doctors, academics or journalists. No evidence has been found to accuse these hundreds of thousands of witch hunt victims of either supporting the coup or any act of violence.