MESOPOTAMIA NEWS REPORT Turkey captures relative of Erdogan enemy in overseas operation

Khazan Jangiz RUDAW  – 1 June 2021 – ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkey has forcibly repatriated the relative of a former ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdgoan, who Ankara blames for a failed 2016 coup attempt against the government, state media said on Monday.

Selahaddin Gulen was arrested abroad and returned to Turkey in an intelligence operation, Anadolu Agency reported, without naming the country from which he was taken. He is accused of membership of an “armed terror group.”

Members of the Service (Hizmet) Movement, led by Fethullah Gulen, have been targeted by Turkey following the attempted military coup in 2016. The leader now lives in exile in the US.

Following the coup, the Turkish government began clearing government institutions, the army and security forces, and tens of thousands of people were arrested on suspicion of links to the Gulen movement.

The New York Times has claimed Selahaddin was arrested in Kenya, referencing a video purportedly showing his wife, who said he was kidnapped from the country on May 3.

“I reckon he is facing abduction only because his surname is Gulen,” she said in the footage.

On May 21, Turkish force arrested at least 84 suspects linked to Fetullah Gulen in simultaneous operations across 14 provinces, Anadolu reported.

In April, the assets of 205 members of the Service Movement were also blocked.

According to a report published in January 2020, 125,678 civil servants were dismissed and 270 students were suspended from school and universities for their alleged links to the Gulen movement. A total of 2,761 institutions and organizations were also closed for the same reason.