That day and the following day when Bediuzzaman went out in his phaeton into the country suirounding Emirdag, he was followed by fve aircraft.32 It may be imagined how all this intimidated the people of the town.
Now, at the beginning of 1948, Bediuzzaman was repeatedly summoned to the police station and Govemment Building to give statements and in such a way as to insult and degrade him. On one occasion, although ill and over seventy years old, he was kept standing for four hours while being asked facile and meaningless questions. As during the Denizli episode, that night were four severe earth tremors, the epicentre of which was Emirdag.33,3a
As part of the build-up of this plan of the authorities to halt the spread of the Risale-i Nur, three plainclothes police were sent to Emirdag from Afyon to watch Bediuzzaman, establish who his students were, and leam their activities.3s The senior policeman of the group, Abdurrahman Akgül, related his experiences in some detail to Necmeddin ?ahiner. A summary is as follows:
The three were briefed carefully, given false identities, and were to go entirely incognito with not even their families knowing where they were. Abdurrahman was wamed by the Police Chief not to annoy Bediuzzaman, for if he did, he would meet with trouble. The three arrived in Emirdag on 13 December,1947. ONy the Gendamie Chief there and Kaymakam knew who they were.
Having been shown where Bediuzzaman's house was, the three sat down in a cafe opposite and started to watch it. A short while later Bediuzzaman appeared at the door and some of his students came out. Abdurrahman commented on their youth. The students