Isa Özdemir and Salih Zeki Yiğit
Two more alleged senior Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) members were brought back to Turkey from abroad as part of operations against the terror group, security sources said on Thursday.
Isa Özdemir, who was apprehended in Azerbaijan, and Salih Zeki Yiğit, in Ukraine, have been brought to Istanbul by private plane on Thursday afternoon following operations conducted by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT), the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
Özdemir and Yiğit are suspected of being members of an armed terror organization.
Four executives of a major Turkish holding company linked to the July 15 defeated coup were convicted on Thursday in central Kayseri province, judicial sources told Anadolu Agency.Former executives of Boydak Holding -- Memduh Boydak, Haci Boydak, Sukru Boydak and Mustafa Boydak -- were sentenced to jail terms ranging from seven and half years to 18 years, according to the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media.The court also ruled in favor of the takeover of the shares of the Boydak Holding executives in the company and its subsidiaries.Over 80 get aggravated life sentences in July 15 Martyrs’ Bridge caseIn August 2016, a Turkish court had appointed trustees to the holding for alleged ties with FETÖ, the group that staged the defeated July 15, 2016 coup.According to the Boydak Holding website, the family-based consortium was established in 1957 and has interests in furniture, textiles, chemicals, marketing, logistics and energy. Its 42 companies employ more than 14,000 staff.FETÖ, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, orchestrated the defeated coup, which left at least 251 people martyred and around 2,200 others wounded.The government also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.US experts raise concern over FETÖ threat in America
Executives get jail terms for FETÖ terror links
According to the sources, Özdemir, who studied at Baku State University, was reportedly responsible for the terror group's finances.
And, Yiğit was an alleged imam of the terror group in the southern Mersin province. He was allegedly involved in money transfers. He fled abroad after the defeated July 15 coup attempt in 2016.
Turkish intelligence officers last March had brought six alleged senior FETÖ members back to Turkey following operations against the terror group’s branch in the Balkans, according to security sources.
American experts on Wednesday warned of the threat posed by the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) in the country."I believe that the Gülen movement in the U.S. presents a unique and unusual security threat," said Mark Hall, producer, screenwriter and director of the documentary "Killing Ed", which probed the financial practices of FETO-linked charter schools in the U.S.Security measures stand out at FETÖ’s Pennsylvania campSpeaking at the panel "July 15 Coup attempt: Two Years Later" organized by the Global Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., Hall said FETÖ threatens the U.S. mainly by bringing in unqualified employees from other countries, especially from Turkey, as well as through money laundering and forgery of documents, deceiving local and federal authorities.He noted that the terror group has also been financing major public relations firms for ages to convince American society that they are compatible with democratic, moderate American values. But a closer investigation reveals exactly the opposite."The Gülen movement has financed over a 19-year period a huge PR movement to provide a story about who they are. But when you look more closely, it is not a group that is democratic or that has the U.S.’ best interests in mind," Hall said.FETÖ terror ringleader sends instructions to group membersAt least 16 FETÖ suspects arrested across TurkeyEmphasizing that FETÖ's U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gülen needs to be extradited to Turkey, he added that the U.S. government should also pay attention to the immigration issues related to FETÖ-linked charter schools."The schools should be removed from receiving tax dollars," he said. FETÖ and Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 which left 250 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.Hall, in a previous panel, said he heard about the July 15 defeated coup from TV news while he was in the process of filming a documentary, and "it was no surprise" to him to learn that FETÖ was behind the coup attempt.Another speaker at the panel, Abraham Wagner, who is a lecturer in national security law at Columbia Law School, said the corruption in taxes and immigration that FETÖ commits in the U.S. needs to be examined thoroughly.He also said that FETÖ is not known in America in detail."There is not a great deal of awareness in America among the public or the media about what the Gülen movement is," Wagner said. "It is unfortunate that it hasn’t gotten the media coverage or official law enforcement coverage that it needs."Mary Addi, who formerly taught at a Gülen movement school in the U.S., also spoke at the panel.Addi said she first learned that her Turkish husband, who also taught at the school, was part of the movement when she realized he was giving 40 percent of his salary back to the movement."I said to my husband, 'Do you get that this is not legal? They are extorting money from you,'” she said, describing it as "illegal and money laundering".Stating that FETÖ attempted to force her husband to divorce her because she was investigating its corruption, Addi said she worked with her husband to gather evidence of wrongdoing at the schools and submitted it to the relevant authorities.However, she said she has been told that the biggest problem the agencies investigating the movement are facing is tracking the money. Addi also said she has been giving interviews to foreign media outlets while American media outlets turn a blind eye to the issue.“Where are our government officials? Why is our own country not doing anything about these schools? "There is not a doubt in my mind as to whether they are insidious, dangerous and terrorists."
US experts raise concern over FETÖ threat in America
In cooperation with Kosovar intelligence, Turkey’s MIT arrested the six men, who were said to be in charge of getting FETÖ members out of Turkey to go to Europe and the U.S.
According to the Turkish government, FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.
Ankara also accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.
Turkey has brought back 80 FETÖ members from abroad so far, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in a speech in April.