Turkish cleric, longtime Erdogan rival Fethullah Gulen dies in US aged 83

Turkish Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen has died in the United States, where he lived since 1999. Gulen was a one-time ally of Turkey’s powerful leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan but they fell out badly, and Erdogan accused him of being behind an attempt to seize power in a 2016 coup.

The U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkey and beyond but spent his later years mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan, has died. He was 83.

Herkul, a website which publishes Gulen’s sermons, said on its X account that Gulen had died on Sunday evening in the U.S. hospital where he was being treated.

Gulen was a one-time ally of Erdogan but they fell out spectacularly, and Erdogan held him responsible for the 2016 attempted coup in which rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, tanks and helicopters. Some 250 people were killed in the bid to seize power.

Gulen, who had lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denied involvement in the putsch.

Read moreExiled cleric Fethullah Gulen: 'I'm not worried about extradition to Turkey'

(Reuters)


Read more on FRANCE 24 English

Read also:
Turkey demands life sentences for US-based 'mastermind' of failed coup
Turkey detains over 200 military staff with alleged links to Gulen