Police, Inspectors Raid Gülen-Inspired Coşkun Educational Institutions

Police and inspectors from several government organizations raided Coşkun educational institutions in İstanbul's Maltepe district on Friday as part of a government-orchestrated operation targeting the faith-based Gülen movement, popularly known as the Hizmet movement.

The raid was conducted against the private İstanbul Coşkun primary and secondary schools as well as Coşkun High School by police officers accompanying inspectors from numerous state agencies including the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry and the Social Security Institution (SGK).

In addition, the private Ufuk Education Institution in Manisa's Kula district was raided on Friday by police officers accompanying nearly 30 inspectors from various government bodies.

Government-backed operations also targeted İstanbul's Fatih College on Thursday, with the school's Atakent and Bahçelievler branches being raided by police and inspectors who used lasers to measure various aspects of the building to determine if they met specific requirements.

According to the media, the recent police and inspector joint raids of certain educational institutions were authorized via a circular sent to various government bodies including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Labor and Social Security that indicates “reasonable suspicion” -- a clause that was signed into law by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Dec. 12, 2014 -- as the justification for the raids.

The inspectors have refused to present a search warrant or other documents to school authorities to justify the raids.

“When it is determined or suspected that there are educational activities other than those defined in the law in place [in an education institution], necessary [legal] actions are taken,” the circular, implemented on May 25, states.

The much-criticized “reasonable suspicion” clause reduced the threshold for the burden of proof that is required for obtaining a search warrant from strong and concrete evidence to mere reasonable doubt. The police are not only able to easily search any individual, their home or vehicle but can also easily seize the property of all so-called dissidents on the grounds of committing a crime against the government.

Mehmet Kasap, a lawyer representing the Pak Education and Science Employees Union (Pak Eğitim-İş), told the press, “This circular violates the rights of those who are critical of the government and aims to silence them based on political justifications.”

An increasing number of schools sympathetic to the Gülen movement have been targeted by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) following a major investigation into graft that implicated President Erdoğan and other top AK Party figures, which was made public on Dec. 17, 2013. Then-Prime Minister Erdoğan accused the Gülen movement of instigating the operation in order to overthrow his government.

In May 2014, Erdoğan publicly advised AK Party supporters not to send their children to schools affiliated with the movement, vowing, “We will not even give water [to the movement's members].” He has also said he would carry out a “witch hunt” against anyone with links to the movement. Erdoğan has also ordered officials in AK Party-run municipalities to seize land and buildings belonging to the Gülen movement by any means necessary. The movement strongly rejects the allegations and no indictment has been brought against it.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)