Former followers say Gülen is behind extortion, blackmail scheme
Accounts of former lieutenants of Fethullah Gülen, the fugitive leader of Gülen Movement wanted on terror charges, reveal the outreach of the former preacher in Turkey and how he ordered blackmail and extortion to widen his clout.
Testimonies of senior figures once close to Gülen were included in a draft text prepared for legal basis to his extradition from the United States, where he currently resides in self-exile. A total of 620 witnesses such as Nurettin Veren and Latif Erdoğan who was once part of Gülen's inner circle that was quoted by prosecutors, said members of the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) were "loyal to the death" to the 76-year-old, and executed his orders to illegally wiretap hundreds of people and oversaw the release of imprisoned Gülenists.
Prosecutors portray Gülen as a man ordering his followers to resort to any means necessary to achieve their end, whether legal or illegal, to achieve their purposes. One of these purposes was to overthrow the government, and two attempts to this extent were foiled in 2013. Since those attempts, Gülenists - alternately defined as the "parallel state" in reference to the large number of infiltrators they have within the police, judiciary and bureaucracy - have faced multiple trials, detentions and a nationwide purge.
Gülen, residing in Pennsylvania since 1999, is the prime suspect in all cases regarding the FETÖ, as he is accused of leading the organization and faces multiple life sentences if found guilty. He abstained from attending the first hearings of his trials last year and said through his lawyers that he would only testify to prosecutors in the U.S. Former Gülenists say the "parallel state" stored information regarding Gülen's followers "for future use [in blackmail and extortion]" such as when one decides to leave the movement. They also claim that every member of the movement has to donate a substantial fraction of what he or she earned every month to the movement and the money was directly sent to Gülen. Those refusing to donate any more face lawsuits on trumped-up charges or evidence based on their illegally wiretapped conversations or hidden camera footage.
Testimonies of senior figures once close to Gülen were included in a draft text prepared for legal basis to his extradition from the United States, where he currently resides in self-exile. A total of 620 witnesses such as Nurettin Veren and Latif Erdoğan who was once part of Gülen's inner circle that was quoted by prosecutors, said members of the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ) were "loyal to the death" to the 76-year-old, and executed his orders to illegally wiretap hundreds of people and oversaw the release of imprisoned Gülenists.
Prosecutors portray Gülen as a man ordering his followers to resort to any means necessary to achieve their end, whether legal or illegal, to achieve their purposes. One of these purposes was to overthrow the government, and two attempts to this extent were foiled in 2013. Since those attempts, Gülenists - alternately defined as the "parallel state" in reference to the large number of infiltrators they have within the police, judiciary and bureaucracy - have faced multiple trials, detentions and a nationwide purge.
Gülen, residing in Pennsylvania since 1999, is the prime suspect in all cases regarding the FETÖ, as he is accused of leading the organization and faces multiple life sentences if found guilty. He abstained from attending the first hearings of his trials last year and said through his lawyers that he would only testify to prosecutors in the U.S. Former Gülenists say the "parallel state" stored information regarding Gülen's followers "for future use [in blackmail and extortion]" such as when one decides to leave the movement. They also claim that every member of the movement has to donate a substantial fraction of what he or she earned every month to the movement and the money was directly sent to Gülen. Those refusing to donate any more face lawsuits on trumped-up charges or evidence based on their illegally wiretapped conversations or hidden camera footage.