FETÖ leader Gülen should be buried in US compound

Fetullah Gülen, the leader of the Gülenist terrorist group (FETÖ), should be buried in the United States, security sources said on Tuesday.

Gulen will likely be buried with a funeral Thursday in a plot he previously “indicated” at the Pennsylvania compound that serves as the terrorist group’s headquarters, sources said.

Details emerge of the controversial burial of the terrorist group’s leader whose Turkish citizenship was mooted in 2017, months after he staged a failed coup in July 2016.

Gülen’s funeral prayer will be entrusted to Suat Yıldırım, sources said, a senior FETÖ member also in the ring to succeed Gülen.

Sources said dozens of high-ranking FETÖ members, who have no problem with international travel, are traveling to the United States for the funeral, where they aim to convey a message of “unity” with the members of Gülen’s family.

FETÖ will share Gülen’s final moments in a written statement, Turkish sources said, stressing that the ringleader’s hospitalization before his death was hidden from other members.

FETÖ members also speculate that Gülen left behind a written will, sources added.

An ever-increasing number of FETÖ members flocked to Gülen’s residence in Saylorsburg following the news of his death.

On Monday, around noon local time, FETÖ members began visiting Gülen’s home, amid heightened security measures at the entrance. Vehicles belonging to members of the group passed through security checks and nearly filled the compound’s parking lot.

Meanwhile, no activity was observed at Gülen’s other residence nearby, which was filmed by an Anadolu Agency (AA) cameraman. Gülen is said to have been there in the last days of his life.

An individual dressed in military camouflage and armed with a firearm was seen constantly monitoring the area around the residence’s garden.

Gülen, 83, died at St. Luke’s Hospital in the US state of Pennsylvania.

AA captured footage of room 251 where Gülen was staying shortly before his death.

The room has recently been vacated and cleaned as shown in the pictures. Hospital staff said that until recently visitors had come to check on his treatment.

His body was reportedly taken to the hospital morgue, which was closed to the public.

Turkish intelligence services have confirmed Gulen’s death, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday.

Gülen orchestrated the failed July 15, 2016 coup in Türkiye, in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 injured. Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the army, police and judiciary.

The FETÖ leader had been living in a vast compound in Pennsylvania since 1999 and from there he led the terrorist organization, which had an extensive network of schools, charities and commercial institutions on all continents. FETÖ’s influence has reduced significantly since 2016 and its schools now mainly operate only in Germany, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States.

Turkish leaders had long called for his extradition after the coup attempt, but U.S. legal authorities did not approve it.

The United States refuses to comment

Similarly, on Monday, the US State Department declined to comment on Gülen’s death.

“I will not comment on matters involving individuals living in the United States. So I have seen these reports but have nothing to offer,” deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said in response to a question from an AA reporter.

Earlier, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby responded “nothing at this time” when asked about Gulen’s death.

Turkey has sent the United States hundreds of files full of evidence implicating Gülen and FETÖ in the coup attempt since 2016, which Washington says it is reviewing, but no detailed comment on the extradition process has not yet been done. Turkish officials believe they are “blocked”.

Ankara says evidence shows that Gülen’s group formed a quasi-state within the Turkish government and attempted to overthrow it with the ultimate goal of taking control of the state through a coup.

The issue has been raised numerous times in bilateral meetings between Turkish and American officials, in phone calls, letters and other exchanges, and remains a thorn in the side of Turkish-American relations.

Turkey is seeking to extradite hundreds of other so-called high-ranking FETÖ members from the United States and 257 from European Union countries, including 77 from Germany.