A former columnist at the now-closed Zaman daily has applied to authorities to provide evidence of crimes committed by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Ali Ünal, who is currently in jail awaiting trial, submitted to the Parliament FETÖ Commission his testimony on the workings of the multinational criminal syndicate.
Zaman was among the dozens of FETÖ publications shut down after the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. He said he saw Adil Öksüz, a theology academic who became the number one suspect in the coup attempt, next to Fetullah Gülen. Fugitive Öksüz is accused of directing the coup attempt from the Akıncılar Air Base near Ankara. He was detained the next day but released under shadowy circumstances. It is believed he was released by FETÖ operatives within the judiciary and has not been seen since.
Ünal said in the late 1990s before Gülen fled to the U.S., Gülen gave monthly sermons in Istanbul and İzmir. During his visits, he had been introduced to a person identified as "Adil Hodja," who he says he now knows is Öksüz. Within FETÖ, only those who are members of the "mullahs," senior religious officials, within the group are identified as hodjas, he said.
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