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| Fethullah Gulen (Photo: Today's Zaman) |
The daily reported on Wednesday that Gülen's lawyer recently submitted a petition to a court of first instance in İstanbul, in which he argued that Altıparmak, Pala and Kandil hurled harsh insults at his client when delivering their speeches during the Fenerbahçe congress. According to the petition, Gülen was accused of being responsible for an ongoing investigation into match-fixing claims in Turkish football. Gülen's lawyer argued that the three Fenerbahçe members violated his client's personal rights.
During an extraordinary congress on May 19, Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım was elected the chairman for another term. Yıldırım has been held in İstanbul's Metris Prison for nearly 11 months due to alleged involvement in match fixing. Since the start of the match-fixing investigation in July of last year, some circles have claimed that the Hizmet movement, led by Gülen, is behind the investigation, with the aim to eventually seize control of Fenerbahçe.
In speeches delivered separately during the congress, Altıparmak, Pala and Kandil implicitly accused Gülen and the Hizmet movement of “working to infiltrate Fenerbahçe.” They argued that members of the Hizmet movement advised Fenerbahçe about who should be the new chairman of the club.
Gülen is demanding TL 10,000 from each of the three defendants for the allegedly slanderous remarks.
An İstanbul court is set to hear the case in the coming weeks.
Many say the match-fixing operation is an historic opportunity for Turkey to "get rid of its rotten apples" in the Turkish sports world. Not only club administrators but also football players and journalists have been arrested on suspected links to a terrorist organization. Yıldırım stands accused of running a terrorist organization that has fixed dozens of football matches in Turkey to date.
Published on Today's Zaman, 30 May 2012, Wednesday
