[Corry Görgü]
"Die Anschläge auf die Synagogen in Istanbul und die Rolle von Staat und Hizbullah"
/ref> a figure presented by the Center for Defense Information
The Center for Defense Information (CDI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C. It specialized in analyzing and advising on military matters.
History
The Center for Defense Information was founded in 1971 by an indepen ...
as well. Information provided by the Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1945 by a group of scient ...
based on the 2002 Patterns of Global Terrorism
''Patterns of Global Terrorism'' was a report published each year on or before April 30 by the United States Department of State. It has since been renamed Country Reports on Terrorism. The Secretary of State is required by Congress to produce d ...
report suggests that the organisation possibly has a few hundred members and several thousand supporters.[Turkish Hizballah](_blank)
Fas.org. Retrieved on 2011-02-09. Ufuk Hiçyılmaz stated that the group had about 1,000 armed members.
Trials (2000–2011)
After the kidnapping of several businessmen in Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
and the subsequent raid of a house in Beykoz
Beykoz () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 310 km2, and its population is 247,875 (2022). It lies at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name i ...
quarter a nationwide hunt on Hezbollah supporters followed. During the operation in Beykoz on 17 January 2000 Hüseyin Velioğlu was killed and Edip Gümüş and Cemal Tutar were detained. Edip Gümüş, born 1958 in Batman was alleged to lead the military wing of Hezbollah and Cemal Tutar was said to be a member of the armed wing.[An online edition of th]
Annual Report 2000 of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
is available on the website of the Democratic Turkey Forum In this period nearly 6000 KH members were arrested.
In the time to follow many trials were conducted in Diyarbakır and other places against alleged members of Hezbollah. In several instances defendants raised torture allegations. Such allegations are documented in Urgent Actions (UA) of Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
. In the trial in which Edip Gümüş and Cemal Tutar were indicted the defendant Fahrettin Özdemir said on 10 July 2000 that he had been held in custody for 59 days and had been tortured. In the hearing of 11 September 2000 Cemal Tutar said that he had been held in police custody for 180 days.
The Turkish Hezbollah trial was concluded in December 2009. The defendants received varying terms of imprisonment.
Eighteen members of Turkish Hezbollah, amongst them Edip Gümüs and Cemal Tutar, were released from jail on 4 January 2011, in accordance with a recent amendment to the Turkish criminal code that set a limit of 10 years on the time detainees can be held without being sentenced in a final verdict. The juridic authorities demanded a re-arrest of the released, but the police failed in locating them.
Movement of the Oppressed and Free Cause Party (2002–present)
Following the decision to end armed struggle in 2002, sympathizers of Hizbollah's Menzil group founded an association called "Solidarity with the Oppressed" (tr: ''Mustazaflar ile Dayanışma Derneği'' or short Mustazaf Der) in 2003.[Compare an article in the daily Radikal of 13 April 2013]
Hizbullah: Tebliğ, Cemaat, Cihat
accessed on 15 April 2013 It also became known as the Movement of the Oppressed (Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
* Something related to Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire
* The w ...
: ''Mustazaflar Hareketi''). On 18 April 2010 Mustazaf Der organized a mass meeting in Diyarbakir to celebrate the anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad
In Islam, Muhammad () is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the Quran, eternal word of God () from the Angels in Islam, angel Gabriel () to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Isl ...
's birthday (known as Mawlid
The Mawlid () is an annual festival commemorating the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad on the traditional date of 12 Rabi' al-Awwal, the third month of the Islamic calendar. A day central to the traditions of some Sunnis, Mawlid is al ...
). The Turkish police estimated that the event was attended by 120,000 people. The organizers put the figure at over 300,000.[See an article of the International Relation and Security Network in Zurich of 15 June 2010 written by Gareth Jenkin]
A New Front in the PKK Insurgency
accessed on 15 April 2013
On 20 April 2010 a court in Diyarbakir ordered the closure of the Association for the Oppressed (Mustazaf-Der) on the grounds that it was "conducting activities on behalf of the terrorist organization Hizbollah." The decision was confirmed by the Court of Cassation
A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
on 11 May 2012.
In late 2012, the Movement of the Oppressed announced its will to found a political party, basically to challenge the hegemony of the Peace and Democracy Party
The Peace and Democracy Party (, , BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014.
Development
BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 2008, following the closure of the latter party for its alleged conne ...
. In December 2012, a political party with the name Free Cause Party
The Free Cause Party (, HÜDA PAR) is a Kurdish Sunni Islamist political party in Turkey. It is centered in the city of Batman, Turkey.
History
Roots
Following the decision to end armed struggle in 2002, activists of the Hizbullah's Menzil ...
(''Hür Dava Partisi'') was founded.Hür Dava Partisi (Hüda-Par) Resmen Kuruldu
. Haberdiyarbakir.com (2012-12-17). Retrieved on 2013-02-09. Hüda-Par, the abbreviated form of the party's name is synonymous with Hizbollah, both interpreted as the "God's Party", emphasising that the party is a front for the otherwise illegal Hizbollah. Societies affiliated with Hüda-Par operate under the umbrella organisation Lovers of Prophet (