Turkey captures nephew of U.S.-based preacher Gulen

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish agents have captured a nephew of U.S.-based Muslim leader Fethullah Gulen in an overseas operation and have brought him to Turkey where he faces prosecution, Al Jazeera reports.

Selahaddin Gulen, wanted in Turkey on charges of membership of a terror organization, was seized in an operation by Turkey’s national spy agency MIT, Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Monday, May 31.

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 U.S., has rejected the accusations.

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