Fetullah Gülen, the ringleader of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), is expected to be buried in the United States, security sources said Tuesday.
Gülen will likely be buried with a funeral on Thursday in a plot he previously “pointed at” at the Pennsylvania compound functioning as the terrorist group’s headquarters, sources said.
Details are emerging about the controversial burial of the terrorist ringleader whose Turkish citizenship was evoked in 2017, months after he organized a defeated July 2016 coup.
Gülen’s funeral prayer will be charged by Suat Yıldırım, sources said, a senior FETÖ member also in the ring to succeed Gülen.
Sources said dozens of FETÖ high-ranking members who have no trouble with international travel are headed to the U.S. for the funeral where they aim to give a message of “unity” with Gülen’s family members.
FETÖ will be sharing Gülen’s final moments in a written statement, Turkish sources said, noting that the ringleader’s hospitalization before his death was kept from other members.
FETÖ members are also speculating that Gülen left behind a written will, sources added.
An ever-increasing number of FETÖ members have flocked to Gülen’s residence in Saylorsburg, following the news of his death.
Starting around noon local time on Monday, FETÖ members began visiting Gülen's home amid heightened security measures at the entrance. Vehicles belonging to the group's members passed through security screenings and nearly filled the parking area within the compound.
Meanwhile, no activity was observed at Gülen's other residence in the vicinity, which was captured in aerial footage by an Anadolu Agency (AA) cameraman. Gülen was reportedly at this location in the final days of his life.
An individual dressed in military camouflage and armed with a firearm was seen consistently monitoring the surroundings in the garden of the residence.
Gülen, who was 83, died at St. Luke's Hospital in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.
AA captured images of room 251 where Gülen stayed shortly before his death.
The room was recently vacated and cleaned, the footage showed. Hospital staff said that until recently, visitors had come to check on his treatment.
His body was reportedly taken to the hospital morgue, which is off-limits to the public.
Turkish intelligence confirmed the death of Gülen, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday.
Gülen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016, in Türkiye in which 252 people were killed and 2,734 wounded. 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.
The FETÖ ringleader had been living in a vast compound in Pennsylvania since 1999 and from there he ran the terrorist organization, which had a sprawling network of schools, charities and business institutions on every continent. FETÖ’s influence has been much reduced since 2016 and its schools now only mainly operate in Germany, Nigeria, South Africa and the United States.
Turkish leaders had long sought his extradition after the coup attempt, but U.S. judicial officials did not approve it.
Similarly, on Monday, the U.S. State Department declined to comment on Gülen’s death.
"I wouldn't comment on matters involving private individuals living in the United States. So I've seen those reports but don't have anything to offer," said deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel in response to a question from an AA reporter.
Earlier, White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby responded "nothing at this time" when asked about Gülen's death.
Türkiye has sent the U.S. hundreds of folders full of evidence implicating Gülen and FETÖ in the coup attempt since 2016, which Washington says it is reviewing but a detailed comment on the extradition process is yet to be made. Turkish officials believe they have been “stalled.”
Ankara says evidence shows that Gülen's group formed a quasi-state within the Turkish government and attempted to topple it with the ultimate intent of taking over the state through a coup.
The issue was raised numerous times in bilateral meetings between Turkish and American officials, in phone calls, letters and other exchanges, and remains a thorn in the side of Türkiye-U.S. relations.
Türkiye is looking to extradite hundreds of other so-called senior members of FETÖ from the U.S., and 257 from European Union countries, including 77 from Germany.
