Father claims Adnan Oktar tore family apart


Adnan Oktar, a larger-than-life television personality and author who is described as a cult leader, faces accusations from a Turkish man living in Austria for brainwashing his daughters to submission. Elvan Koçak, who divorced his wife years ago for her devotion to Oktar, told a Turkish TV station that his two teenage daughters were brainwashed by Oktar.

In an interview to Akit TV in tears, Koçak said he has not been able to contact his daughters Şeyma and Büşra Koçak for seven months and learned they were in Oktar's entourage only recently. He said his friends notified him when they saw two girls at the ages of 19 and 17 on a live broadcast of Oktar's TV show, among other young women in heavy makeup.

Oktar surrounds himself with young women and good-looking men during his programs where he delves into everything from evolution theory to the "British deep state" on his A9 TV. He affectionately calls those young women "kittens." His critics claim that he brainwashes young women and men from wealthy families into joining his cult, a claim he repeatedly denies.

Elvan Koçak said his daughters cut off contact with him and he appealed to the Turkish authorities to help.