Sumeyye Gulen, niece of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, was arrested by Turkish border patrol while trying to flee the country and enter Greece through the northeastern land border, Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced Thursday.
The ministry said Gulen was among 10 people trying to enter Greece, while four in the same group were also members of the cleric’s network, which Ankara describes as the Gulenist Terror Organisation (FETO). The captured individuals were identified as a former judge and a teacher linked to Gulen and others with ties to the group while five others were associated with the PKK terrorist group, according to a report on pro-government Daily Sabah.
Ankara has long accused preacher Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who lives in Pennsylvania, of being behind a 2016 failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and has launched a widespread crackdown on his network. Gulen denies any involvement.
