A sprawling Pennsylvania estate belonging to the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ) and used by its ringleader Fetullah Gülen for many years has nowadays plunged in silence, fueling recent allegations that Gülen was “moved” to another location.
Gülen has lived in the U.S. compound since 1999 and used it as the headquarters of the terrorist group, which orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded in Türkiye.
It was Gülen’s nephew, Ebuseleme Gülen, who claimed in a social media post last week that the FETÖ leader had been kidnapped from his residence in the U.S., which hosts the largest FETÖ network.
Here, Gülen presides over his organization’s consultation board, which is decked with members who served as so-called imams of Türkiye and oversaw money transactions and “secret formations.”
Most of these fugitives escaped to the U.S. before the foiled coup and were to return to Türkiye with Gülen if their attempt had been successful. Instead, they lead hassle-free lives on funds raised as "donations" for FETÖ.
According to his nephew, however, Gülen is currently being held at an unknown location by Cevdet Türkyolu, known as the "black box" of the organization, along with Barbaros Kocakurt, Mustafa Özcan, and Gülen's personal doctor, Kudret Ünal.
Turkish media investigations found the FETÖ estate, which is called “Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center” within the organization, had stopped receiving visitors and emptied its guesthouses.
Drone footage captured by Anadolu Agency (AA) has shown the estate’s once-full parking lot now had only a few vehicles, and only one person was seen entering or exiting one of the guesthouses in the area.
Footage also reveals the notable absence of uniformed and armed American security guards who used to keep post around the clock at the estate’s entrance.
Ebuseleme Gülen’s claims, relayed in a video filmed from a house right next to his uncle’s residence, have since sparked fierce debates as to the FETÖ leader’s whereabouts.
As allegations spread, a social media account for Gülen himself that had been long inactive said the FETÖ leader continued his routine activities “in a calmer environment,” claiming his doctors “insisted” on the change of location.
Ebuseleme Gülen meanwhile insists his uncle “shouldn’t die before revealing the truth” about the July 2016 coup attempt. His claims have caught on with FETÖ supporters who increasingly find explanations from the group “unsatisfactory.”
Many commented on social media the terrorist group is trying to cover up Gülen’s deteriorating health condition.
Gülen’s closest confidant and top aide Türkyolu, who oversees the FETÖ residence and financial affairs, was previously embroiled in infighting and corruption allegations.
He was accused of amassing a wealth of $30 million by embezzling so-called donations to FETÖ.
Türkyolu and another fugitive, Osman Şimşek, one of the lieutenants to Gülen, even got into a brawl in 2021 when Şimşek was ejected from a posh retreat with Gülen and his entourage in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania. Türkyolu apparently punched Şimşek and ordered him to leave the compound when the latter read a letter to Gülen about the questionable wealth of Türkyolu. It was alleged Türkyolu “took over” the group’s reins after this incident.
It was the first time such infighting at the senior level had occurred inside the tightly knit group, which built an international network over decades.
The terrorist group founded its global network in the form of schools and associations while disguising itself as an international nonprofit organization with religious undertones long before the coup attempt.
Türkiye often complains of failures in international cooperation against terrorism and the extradition issue stands out among those failures. The country, which fights against threats from multiple terrorist groups, expects the same stance from the international community, particularly its allies.
An unknown number of FETÖ members, mostly high-ranking figures, fled Türkiye when the coup attempt was thwarted. Many of the group's members had already left the country before the coup attempt after Turkish prosecutors launched investigations into other crimes of the terrorist group.
The U.S. is the subject of most extradition requests. Türkiye has sent several extradition requests for Gülen to Washington, including hundreds of folders full of evidence implicating Gülen and FETÖ in the coup attempt, but U.S. officials have not approved this, saying that what Türkiye submitted falls short of the standard required. The refusal to extradite has long been a thorn in the side of Turkish-U.S. relations.
