On the outside, Ercan Karakoyun simply appears as the owner of a chain of kindergartens in Germany. But this unassuming-looking man residing in a posh villa in Dallgow-Doberitz, a small town in Brandenburg, is among the most wanted suspects affiliated with the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). He was instrumental in helping some 5,000 members of the terrorist group behind a 2016 coup attempt in Türkiye take shelter in Germany.

Germany is no stranger to FETÖ members and despite protests by Ankara, repeatedly allowed the terrorist group’s members to freely reside within its borders and granted some among them asylum.

German-born Karakoyun is the third prominent name from FETÖ photographed in Germany by the Sabah newspaper, which earlier tracked down Cevheri Güven, a well-known name in FETÖ circles who carries out FETÖ propaganda work abroad and Mehmet Karabörk, a former police chief with three outstanding arrest warrants.

Karakoyun assumed the role of the terrorist group’s "chief" for Europe after his predecessor Abdullah Aymaz fled to Pennsylvania, United States, where FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen resides, in the aftermath of the 2016 putsch bid. In his role, he organized the affairs of FETÖ for its fugitive members, helping them to earn political asylum and residence in Germany. Indeed, Karakoyun advises a local commission handling asylum applications. He serves on the board of the Dialogue and Education Foundation of FETÖ, which helps the terrorist group’s members who fled Türkiye get accommodation in safe houses. The foundation’s lawyers help the fugitives complete legal procedures for asylum.

The foundation was founded by Karakoyun in 2013 in Berlin. Karakoyun, who is also a founding member of the Forum for Intercultural Dialogue, was also behind House of One, a controversial project that seemingly promotes inter-religious dialogue but drew criticism from Muslims. In 2017, he penned a book about Gülen, promoting him as a moderate Muslim preacher.

Karakoyun is on the "grey list" of the most wanted terrorist list of the Interior Ministry. Türkiye sought the extradition of Karakoyun in 2020, on the grounds that he was a senior figure of FETÖ but Germany rejected the request, citing he was born in Germany. On the other hand, Germany also rejected the extradition of Turkish-born names, including Adil Öksüz, the mastermind of the 2016 coup bid, as well as FETÖ-linked prosecutors Zekeriya Öz and Celal Kara.

Germany has been historically home to a large number of supporters of the PKK and other groups recognized as terrorists by Türkiye and the European Union. FETÖ, apparently encouraged by this, instructed its members to take shelter in the European country after the coup attempt.

Acting under the guise of a charity movement, FETÖ is widely tolerated in Germany where about 14,000 of its members who fled Türkiye before and after the coup attempt reside. While most of Türkiye's other allies, especially countries in Africa, cooperate with Ankara in shutting down FETÖ schools and deporting the group's members, Germany often faces criticism from Turkish officials for its tolerant policy towards FETÖ.

Along with the embrace by Berlin, FETÖ members find assistance from fellow members of the group in the form of a nonprofit that seemingly aims to help "refugees." Aktion für Flüchtlingshilfe (Aid Action for Refugees), linked to FETÖ, helps the group's members arriving from Türkiye learn German and find jobs and accommodation in the country.

Group members who give interviews to German media outlets confirm an exodus of FETÖ members from Türkiye to Germany in the aftermath of the thwarted coup attempt. Data from the German Interior Ministry shows that 296 people bearing diplomatic passports and 881 others with service passports – issued to public sector employees, soldiers, etc. – applied for asylum in Germany from July 2016 to June 2018, and most are believed to be FETÖ infiltrators in the military and bureaucracy. Half of them were granted asylum.

After the coup attempt, FETÖ tried to keep a low profile in Germany amid a backlash from the Turkish community in the country. Half of the "study centers" that offer classes for Turkish children were closed down, while three out of 25 FETÖ-linked schools had to be closed when Turkish families pulled their children from those schools after the coup attempt. Seeking to hide their connections to FETÖ, those schools started changing names. For instance, the Dialogue High School in Cologne, which was named after Gülen's "interfaith dialogue" initiative, was renamed the Ferdinand Franz Wallraf Gymnasium. For survival, those schools count mostly on children of FETÖ suspects who fled Türkiye in 2016.

The terrorist group also runs a lobby group to restore its tarnished image and is known to funnel millions of euros for public relations campaigns in favor of what they called the Hizmet (Service) Movement.

Karakoyun serves as a spokesperson for FETÖ and often giving interviews with German media outlets. In one such interview five years ago, he said Germany has been "a new center" for the group, citing it "cannot survive in (Türkiye)." Karakoyun said in the same interview that the group has a significant presence in Germany, adding that new arrivals "will be as active there as they were in (Türkiye)."