Turkey jails nephew of preacher Gulen for terrorism

Istanbul: A court in Turkey on Tuesday convicted the nephew of a preacher accused of having plotted the failed 2016 coup, jailing him for “belonging to a terrorist organisation”, media reported.

Selahaddin Gulen, the nephew of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen was jailed for three years and four months by an Ankara court, said Turkish media reports.

Intelligence agents brought Gulen back to Turkey from Kenya in May 2021, Turkey’s official news agency Anadolu reported at the time.

Gulen had vanished from a police station in the Kenyan capital despite a court order banning his extradition, and his wife said Turkish intelligence agents had captured him.

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once an ally of the preacher Gulen, accuses him of having been behind the failed coup against him in July 2016.

Gulen, a Muslim cleric, has repeatedly denied any involvement and the United States had denied Turkey’s requests for his extradition.

Tens of thousands of people have been arrested since the failed 2016 coup, accused of belonging to the “terrorist Feto organisation”, the Anadolu agency says.

Gulen insists that his organisation is just a network of businesses and NGOs.

Ankara has also pursued suspected members of Gulen’s network abroad and says it has “repatriated” dozens of people since 2016.