A woman in İzmir reported her husband to Turkish authorites six months ago, accusing him of being a Gülen movement sympathizer after he asked her for a divorce, resulting in his arrest and pretrial detention.
Gülcan A. planted books by Fethullah Gülen, magazines linked to the Gülen movement and a one dollar bill in their home to create the impression that her husband, Rüstem A., was linked to the Gülen movement, grounds for prosecution under the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Yeni Asır newspaper reported that the woman put an E series one dollar bill in their home when she was unable to find any F series bills, considered by the regime in Turkey to be evidence of connections to Islamic scholar Gülen, the arch enemy of the Turkish government.
Rüstem A. was unlawfully imprisoned for six months. Once he was released, he officially filed for divorce from Gülcan A. This time, the wife claimed that her husband had cheated on her and demanded damages. However, when Rüstem A. was able to prove his wife’s plot against him, the court granted the divorce and denied all requests for compensation by the wife.
Turkey is pursuing a relentless purge against real and perceived supporters of the religious network of the Gülen movement inside and outside the country, particularly after a coup attempt on July 15, 2016, for which the government blames the movement.
Tens of thousands of victims purged by the government have been jailed based on informants’ statements without any credible evidence of the commission of a crime.