On July 15, Friday, Turkey witnessed an attempted coup orchestrated by sections of the military, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of people. The coup attempt has now been effectively thwarted by the government as it has full control in the country. As Centre for Hizmet Studies, we strongly condemn the attempted military coup in Turkey. Free and fair elections is the only legitimate way to challenge an incumbent government; therefore, any anti-democratic intervention in politics should be categorically condemned. Turkey has long suffered from such attempts and it cannot tolerate another disruption in its struggle for becoming a functioning democracy.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Turkey. We hope and pray that the current situation is resolved soon in a peaceful manner. We also hope that those accused of attempting to overthrow the government are tried in the courts of law and this incident becomes a source of motivation for improving and consolidating Turkey’s democratic values.

Dr Ismail Mesut Sezgin, Director of the Centre for Hizmet Studies, appeared on BBC World Service News to express his views on the issue. Click to listen to the interview.

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Notes to editors

Founded in 2014, the Centre for Hizmet Studies is a London-based non-profit organisation that provides information, research, analysis and critique on Hizmet, a civil society grass roots movement originating out of Turkey but now active in over 160 countries worldwide through education, dialogue, relief work and media.

For press enquiries please contact us by emailing fisik@hizmetstudies.org