Police department's terror report is shameful, says Professor Özgenç
İzzet Özgenç, a professor of criminal law, has criticized a report recently prepared by the National Police Department accusing Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen of being the leader of a "terrorist organization," saying, "Those who had a role in writing the report might be tried as being members of a terrorist group in the future for their slander."
Özgenç, one of the main authors of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), posted consecutive tweets via his personal Twitter account on Friday slamming the content of the report, which leveled accusations against Gülen and the movement he inspired, known as the Gülen movement or Hizmet.
In one of his tweets, Özgenç underlined that the report was prepared under pressure from the political administration, adding, "It is not a prophecy to forecast that those who were compelled to write the report under the ruling power's pressure will be subject to trial as members of a terrorist organization in the near future."
Özgenç pointed out the report aims to lay the groundwork for more criminal complaints, investigations and court cases that target the Gülen movement with charges related to a terrorist group, and went on to say: "The main purpose of the report is to create the legal base for penal courts of peace rulings. In the coming days, these courts may rule for the detention and arrest of people in line with the report. Such decisions will make the shame we have long felt from the violation of the principle of law more visible."
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