Ergün Poyraz | |
---|---|
Born | Istanbul, Turkey | January 31, 1963
Occupation | Author |
Ergün Poyraz (born 31 January 1963 [1]) is a prolific Turkish author known for his controversial books about the ruling Justice and Development Party, the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, [2] and people associated with them. He is best known for his 2007 book The Children of Moses ( Turkish: Musa'nın Çocukları), which accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife of being secret Jews and of cooperating with Israeli intelligence to undermine Turkish secularism. [3] He was arrested in 2007 and was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials; on 5 August 2013, he was sentenced to 29 years in prison.
Poyraz graduated from the Yıldız Technical University. [1]
He was described as an extremely secular Turkish ultranationalist. [4] [5]
According to Milliyet, Poyraz contributed to the 1998 closure of the Welfare Party (RP) "by presenting to the Constitutional Court [secret] footage of RP leader Necmettin Erbakan's speeches." [6]
Poyraz's 2007 book The Children of Moses accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife of being secret Jews and cooperating with Israeli intelligence to undermine Turkish secularism. [7] [8] His another book The Rose of Moses contains similar allegations about President Abdullah Gül. [9] It was the second best-selling book in Turkey in 2007. [10] He later released a book titled From the Army of the Caliphate to the Arab Kurdish Party, with "Arab Kurdish Party" referring to the AKP. [11] At the time of his 2007 arrest Poyraz appears to have been working on a book about Deniz Baykal. [12]
In 2013, Poyraz lost a libel case brought on behalf of the preacher Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the controversial Islamic Gülen movement, [13] over his book Amerika'daki İmam ("The Imam in America"). [14]
He was arrested in 2007 and charged with membership of the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), which is said to be linked to the Ergenekon organization. [3] [15] According to Taraf, Poyraz was paid by the JITEM military intelligence unit; [16] General Levent Ersöz has also spoken of payments to Poyraz. [17]
According to media reports, the Turkish Gendarmerie bought thousands of copies of Poyraz' books. [18]
In August 2013, he was sentenced to 29 years and 4 months in prison. [19] [20] [21] He was released on March 11, 2014 after his sentence time was reduced. [22]
In April 2022 he was severely beaten in front of his house in Kuşadası district of Aydın and hospitalised. [23]
Ergün Poyraz | |
---|---|
Born | Istanbul, Turkey | January 31, 1963
Occupation | Author |
Ergün Poyraz (born 31 January 1963 [1]) is a prolific Turkish author known for his controversial books about the ruling Justice and Development Party, the Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, [2] and people associated with them. He is best known for his 2007 book The Children of Moses ( Turkish: Musa'nın Çocukları), which accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife of being secret Jews and of cooperating with Israeli intelligence to undermine Turkish secularism. [3] He was arrested in 2007 and was a defendant in the Ergenekon trials; on 5 August 2013, he was sentenced to 29 years in prison.
Poyraz graduated from the Yıldız Technical University. [1]
He was described as an extremely secular Turkish ultranationalist. [4] [5]
According to Milliyet, Poyraz contributed to the 1998 closure of the Welfare Party (RP) "by presenting to the Constitutional Court [secret] footage of RP leader Necmettin Erbakan's speeches." [6]
Poyraz's 2007 book The Children of Moses accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife of being secret Jews and cooperating with Israeli intelligence to undermine Turkish secularism. [7] [8] His another book The Rose of Moses contains similar allegations about President Abdullah Gül. [9] It was the second best-selling book in Turkey in 2007. [10] He later released a book titled From the Army of the Caliphate to the Arab Kurdish Party, with "Arab Kurdish Party" referring to the AKP. [11] At the time of his 2007 arrest Poyraz appears to have been working on a book about Deniz Baykal. [12]
In 2013, Poyraz lost a libel case brought on behalf of the preacher Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the controversial Islamic Gülen movement, [13] over his book Amerika'daki İmam ("The Imam in America"). [14]
He was arrested in 2007 and charged with membership of the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), which is said to be linked to the Ergenekon organization. [3] [15] According to Taraf, Poyraz was paid by the JITEM military intelligence unit; [16] General Levent Ersöz has also spoken of payments to Poyraz. [17]
According to media reports, the Turkish Gendarmerie bought thousands of copies of Poyraz' books. [18]
In August 2013, he was sentenced to 29 years and 4 months in prison. [19] [20] [21] He was released on March 11, 2014 after his sentence time was reduced. [22]
In April 2022 he was severely beaten in front of his house in Kuşadası district of Aydın and hospitalised. [23]