The Governor's Office detail in the 'repentance session' organized by Menzil in İzmir

The moments when hundreds of people gathered in front of the Menzil sect leader's house in İzmir to hold a mass repentance session had come to the agenda and drawn backlash. Sözcü columnist Emin Çölaşan stated that no permission was obtained from the Governor's Office for this mass organization. 

Regarding the issue, Çölaşan wrote the following in his column today: 

"In the heart of a city like İzmir, people come together, mass prayers are recited, hymns are sung, and speeches are delivered.

The group organizing this is the Menzil community.

This community is an interesting structure. There is no other example or equivalent to it in Turkey.

Let me ask a question right away...

Was permission obtained from the state, for example from the İzmir Governor's Office, for this meeting held at night?

No, it was not.                                    

Imagine a country where, even if a few people come together to make an innocent press statement, security forces confront them; participants are sometimes beaten, and some are taken into custody. What happens afterward is a matter of luck!.. Because innocent people with no crimes are arrested.

In such an environment, the Menzil sect staged a show of force. They called it a mass repentance session.

What they repented for, or which sins they asked God to erase, we cannot know!"

News Source: 12punto