Report: No Relation Between Nurcus Ban in Russia and Gülen
Russian news agency RIA Novosti announced yesterday that a state ban on a organization had no relation to Fethullah Gülen, one of the world's most influential religious scholars.
Andrey Nizamuddinov, an editor at RIA Novosti, said that comments included in a news article related to the ban on Turkish group Nurcus did not belong to the agency itself and were added to the story by an editor who excerpted the comments from another press organ.
RIA Novosti reported on Thursday that Russia's Supreme Court had ruled Turkish organization Nurcus was an "extremist" group and banned its activities in the country.
"The Supreme Court, having considered in a closed session a request forwarded by a prosecutor, decided to ban the group's activities in Russian territory," the court reportedly said.
The news agency also linked the Supreme Court's ruling to a former decision by a Moscow court to term the writings of Bediüzzaman Said Nursi — a major figure of 20th century Islamic thought — "extremist" literature.
"We will make the necessary corrections as soon as possible," said Nizamuddinov.
No lawsuits filed against Gülen in Russia
Meanwhile, Gülen lawyer Orhan Erdemli refuted news articles in the Turkish press yesterday that a lawsuit had been filed against Gülen in Russia.
"Some newspapers reported that Russia dealt a serious blow to Gülen and that his group's activities in Russia were totally banned because his organization had ties with extreme groups and terrorist organizations. Such allegations have nothing to do with reality. They are all unfounded," he said.
Erdemli also stressed that releasing libelous news reports was incompatible with journalistic principles.
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