The Turkish National Defense Ministry has confirmed the death of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) ringleader, Fetullah Gulen, at a hospital in the United States.
“The leader of FETO, who brainwashed individuals and conspired against the independence and future of the noble Turkish nation, causing great harm to our state and heroic army, has died,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday.
“Although this traitor's death as a 'stateless' individual and the fact that he will forever be remembered as such cannot ease the suffering of our citizens harmed by this (terrorist) group, it serves as a lesson on the inevitable fate of those who betray their homeland,” the statement stressed.
Gulen, 83, had been living in the US state of Pennsylvania and died in the St. Luke's hospital there. Turkish leaders have long sought his extradition, but US judicial officials did not approve it.
FETO and its US-based ringleader Fethullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Türkiye in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded. Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.
“Those who still insist on betraying their homeland and nation as captives of this group should learn from this and surrender to the esteemed Turkish justice as soon as possible,” the defence ministry added in its statement.
Upon Gulen's death, Ankara once again commemorated those murdered by the terrorist organisation, especially those killed on July 15 (2016).
The ministry vowed that Türkiye's fight against terrorist groups, including FETO, would continue with determination and resolve "until their roots are eradicated."
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