A Turkish man who has been residing in Germany for 41 years was attacked in an apparent hate crime by the Turkish proprietor of a kebab store in Kamen, North Rhine-Westphalia, resulting from his links to the Gülen motion, Turkish Minute reported.
According to Kronos, 59-year-old Ramazan Yılmazer was bodily attacked by Rıfat Yılmaz, the proprietor of Özay’s Kebab Haus in Kamen, the place he went to have dinner together with his daughter and son-in-law greater than a 12 months after the final time had eaten there.
Yılmazer instructed Kronos that upon getting into the store, he requested Yılmaz about its proprietor, whom he had identified for years, and located that Yılmaz had lately taken over the store. He then requested him about an worker named Yetiş, and Yılmaz answered: “I fired them all, I can’t work with guys like that. The man was a FETÖ member, that’s a terrorist, you know.”
FETÖ is a derogatory time period utilized by the Turkish authorities to discuss with the Gülen motion, a faith-based group impressed by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, as a terrorist group.
Yılmazer continued: “I told him, ‘I don’t know you, but I’ve known those people for 30 years. Did they use violence against you? Were they engaged in any armed acts? How can you talk [about them] like that?’ Then, he replied, ‘So you are one of them,’ [and] he started swearing. He got really aggressive.”
On his manner out of the store, Yılmazer additionally instructed the attacker, “You can’t label people as terrorists. We all live in Europe. Terrorism has a definition. Besides, I’m a customer. I came here to buy a kebab, not to listen to insults.”
According to Kronos, Yılmaz then began swearing at his household, got here out from behind the counter and attacked Yılmazer, who had a few of his entrance enamel damaged because of the assault.
When the police arrived, Yılmaz complained to them about Yılmazer, saying he was afraid of him as a result of he was a terrorist, however the officers paid no consideration to his claims, Kronos mentioned, citing Yılmazer.
After submitting a police report, Yılmazer additionally went to the hospital to get a medical report, the place he was suggested to go away instantly since Yılmaz has a big household that no one wished to mess with.
“[But] I’m not the guilty one. I am not the attacker. Germany is a state of law. I’ll seek my rights in court,” Yılmaz mentioned.
Saying that he had been attacked by racists in Germany again in 1996 and was now being focused by supporters of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) authorities, Yılmaz described his links to the Gülen motion as follows: “I’m only a transporter [by profession]. I’m not a manager in any association or foundation [affiliated with the movement]. I support [Gülenists’] educational and cultural activities voluntarily.”
The Gülen motion is a worldwide civic initiative rooted in the religious and humanistic custom of Islam. The bases of the motion are numerous service initiatives which are initiated, funded and performed by people who find themselves motivated by Gülen’s humanitarian discourse.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been focusing on followers of the motion because the corruption investigations of December 17-25, 2013, implicating then-prime minister Erdoğan, his relations and interior circle.
Dismissing the investigations as a Gülenist coup and conspiracy in opposition to his authorities, Erdoğan designated the motion as a terrorist group and commenced to focus on its members. He locked up 1000’s, together with many prosecutors, judges and cops concerned in the investigation.
Erdoğan intensified the crackdown on the motion following a coup try on July 15, 2016, that he accused Gülen of masterminding. Gülen and the motion strongly deny involvement in the abortive putsch or any terrorist exercise.
Followers of the motion have been targets of hate speech, hate crimes, illegal prosecution, torture and abductions amongst different severe human rights violations.
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