US-Based Turkish Cleric Fethullah Gulen, Accused of 2016 Coup, Dies at 83

Oct 21, 2024, 06:30 AM

Fethullah Gulen, the US-based Turkish cleric accused by Ankara of orchestrating the failed 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, has died in Pennsylvania at the age of 83, according to reports from Turkish state broadcasters TRT Haber and NTV, as well as the Hurriyet newspaper. Gulen, once an ally but later a longtime rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, led a global movement known as the Gulen Movement or Hizmet, which Turkey designates as a terrorist organization called FETO. His death is expected to remove a significant point of tension between the United States and Turkey, particularly surrounding the long-standing issue of his extradition, which had calmed in recent years. Gulen had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, and Turkey had repeatedly sought his return to face charges related to the attempted coup and allegations of running a parallel state structure aimed at undermining the Turkish government.