Turkish actress Berna Laçin is facing a backlash after calling for the revocation of diplomas for former students who attended schools affiliated with the Gülen movement, a move critics say amounts to hate speech and collective punishment, the Stockholm Center for Freedom reported.
In a post on X Laçin wrote, “The diplomas of those who studied at FETÖ schools or received FETÖ scholarships should be canceled.”
Feto okullarında okuyanların , feto bursu alanların diploması iptal edilsin .
— berna lacin
(@bernalacin35) March 15, 2025
The term FETÖ is a derogatory label coined by the Turkish government to refer to the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been targeting followers of the Gülen movement since corruption investigations revealed in December 2013 implicated then-prime minister Erdoğan as well as some members of his family and inner circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and a conspiracy against his government, Erdoğan designated the movement as a terrorist organization and began to target its members. He intensified the crackdown on the movement following an abortive putsch in 2016 that he accused Gülen of masterminding. The movement strongly denies involvement in the coup attempt or any terrorist activity.
Following the failed coup in 2016, the Turkish government declared a state of emergency and carried out a massive purge of state institutions under the pretext of an anti-coup fight. Over 130,000 public servants, including 4,156 judges and prosecutors, as well as more than 24,000 members of the armed forces were summarily removed from their jobs for alleged membership in or relationships with “terrorist organizations” by emergency decree-laws subject to neither judicial nor parliamentary scrutiny.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled against Turkey in multiple cases related to the mass detentions, dismissals and punitive measures imposed following the 2016 coup attempt.
Prominent human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have criticized Turkey’s post-coup crackdown as a violation of the principle of individual criminal responsibility, a fundamental tenet of international law.
Critics say Laçin’s remarks amount to hate speech, unfairly targeting individuals who may have had no involvement in any criminal activity but were simply students at institutions operating legally at the time.
Among the most vocal critics of Laçin’s statement is exiled journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan, who condemned the post on X.
“Not enough, they should be taken to concentration camps, and children should be exterminated in gas chambers. Would that satisfy you?” Arslan said.
Another journalist, Hasan Cücük, also criticized Laçin’s remarks on X.
“Just revoking diplomas is not enough. The diplomas of all their relatives should be canceled, and they should be stripped of their citizenship. Maybe that would cool your hatred!”
Former educators from Gülen-affiliated schools also pushed back. Zeynep Tokuş, a former teacher, defended her students, arguing that Laçin’s comments were rooted in resentment, not justice.
“As someone who has taught at those schools, I can tell you that you are not even worthy of the scribbles my students made in the margins of their test papers,” Tokuş said. “Most of them were accepted into top schools in Turkey and abroad. Don’t be jealous, Berna. You and your resentment have dragged the country into chaos.”
Turkish law prohibits hate speech and discrimination, yet enforcement has been selective, often aligning with political considerations. While some public figures have faced legal repercussions for controversial statements, others have been shielded depending on their political stance.