Turkey captures nephew of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen

Selahaddin was brought back to Turkey by agents from the National Intelligence Organisation, Turkish media said.

A man poses
Gulen's case is the latest in a series of forced repatriation of people affiliated with the Gulen movement, which the Turkish government blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016. [File: Osman Orsal/Reuters]

Turkish agents have captured a nephew of US-based Muslim leader Fethullah Gulen in an overseas operation and have brought him to Turkey where he faces prosecution.

Selahaddin Gulen, wanted in Turkey on charges of membership of a terror organisation, was seized in an operation by Turkey’s national spy agency MIT, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Monday.

The report did not say where he was captured or when he was returned to Turkey. Selahaddin was believed to be residing in Kenya.

On May 6, a Kenyan court banned Selahaddin’s arrest and extradition to Turkey, according to legal documents seen by the AFP news agency.

The court also ordered the return of his passport and said he should be allowed to return to the United States.

Selahaddin, for whom an Interpol red notice was issued at Turkey’s request, arrived in Nairobi on October 17, 2020, and was arrested before he was freed on bail two days later. His lawyer was not available for comment.

His case is the latest in a series of forced repatriation of people affiliated with Gulen’s movement, which the Turkish government blames for a failed coup attempt in 2016.

Gulen, a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who now lives in the US, has rejected the accusations.

Turkey has designated his network as a terrorist group, which it has named the Fethullahist Terror Organization, or FETO.

Earlier in May, Erdogan announced a prominent member of Gulen’s network had been captured but did not provide details.

Source: News Agencies