Turkey has decided to boycott a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Warsaw after it was revealed that nonprofit organizations linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) will also attend the meeting. FETÖ is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and is accused of carrying out the July 15, 2016, coup attempt that killed 250 people.
Diplomatic sources speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) confirmed the decision a day after media outlets reported the boycott. The meeting kicked off on Sept. 10 and will go on till Sept. 21.
It is unclear which NGOs would attend the meeting that focuses on human rights, but FETÖ-linked social media accounts confirmed the participation of the Journalists and Writers Foundation. The U.S.-based foundation has FETÖ leader Fetullah Gülen as its honorary president. Gülen
, who resides in Pennsylvania, faces multiple life sentences in Turkey for his role in the coup attempt and lesser prison terms for other crimes his group is accused of.
Last year, Turkey criticized the participation of FETÖ-linked organizations at the same meeting. Diplomatic sources said that although the meetings were important for Turkey and for NGOs to be able to freely express their views, it was unacceptable to "have organizations disguised as civic society groups, but linked to a terrorist group which attacked the unity of Turkey and its citizens" there.