A sergeant who was introduced to the Gülenists Terror Organization (FETÖ) made detailed confessions to Public Prosecutor's Office about the group's activities.
According to Anadolu Agency, the sergeant, S.A., who described the group as 'murderers who would not hesitate to kill people', spoke about the group, first to his commander, then applied to the prosecutor's office.
Claiming that he met with the members of the group while in high school said: "I was the most successful student in class. Students from upper classes invited me to their friends's house, who were university students. Five students at their house told me that they were successful students who wanted to develop themselves and also help us with our school work." S.A. said this is where he met with the group for the first time.
The sergeant said that he began to regularly visit this house with friends, where they would read books of the FETÖ leader, Fetullah Gülen, who now resides in United States.
He added that the visits to the house continued until his last year in high school. "While I was in grade three of high school, the Abi [brother, head of the house where students stayed] of the house left and another one came. I did not get along with hime so I left the house in the second semester. The new 'imam''s name was Mehmet Emin. They wouldn't tell us their last names. Maybe it was a code name."
S.A. said he met with the group again while he was registering for university in 2006. "A person approached me saying he could help me with accommodation," he said and when we went to stay at their house, he could saw that this was a house ran by Gülenists through his experience with the house he went to during high school.
The sergeant said that the person who took him to the house was in his third year of university and that he left after six months.
"There were three other students staying in the house with me. Many poor students would stay in 'parallel structure' houses in their first years of university. Only one newspaper would be read in the house, TV and internet would not exist, smoking, alcohol, and having a girlfriend would not be tolerated. I stayed in these houses for four years. I became the so-called imam of the house, which I found during my second year of university. Students who stayed in these houses would change every 3-4 months. That's why I don't remember the names of many of them," the sergeant said.
The sergeant said that the organization is a large one but it is managed through breaking it into smaller factions in a hierarchy. He added that the most important factor in FETÖ is loyalty and consultation with elders in the group. Highlighting that the secrecy is a significant part of the group, the sergeant said that the members of FETÖ used code names for different purposes and to different people, in addition to frequently changing their phone lines.
"Someone who I knew as Mehmet, introduced himself as Ali to someone else before my eyes."
The sergeant said that while in last year of university, he was reportedly told that he could stay with any other friend [outside of the group] from university, and that this was not an offer, but rather a command which he needs to abide by.
"I cut all my ties with people from the group, except attending to a weekly meeting. All my friends thought I had left the cemaat. I got a new phone line when I left the old house. I would now only meet with one person from the group. He was B.U., the manager of the student dorm, where I had been going to attend meetings for years."
The sergeant said that in one of the meetings he attended, he was asked he what he wanted to become after university. After responding that he wanted to become a teacher, the elders in the group told him that becoming a sergeant or a commissioned officer is more suitable for him.
"I told them I did not want to do that as it was not suitable for my personality, but they told me it was important that I stayed loyal to the consultation and what was decided during the consultation. If I don't stay loyal, I would be punished by Allah and be unhappy in my life. So I was convinced and accepted to take sergeant exams," he added.
The sergeant claimed that he was given many tips and orders on what to do during the exams and hide his ties to the Gülenist group, and that they gave him the question and answers to the exams in conducted in Ankara by Turkish Armed Forces Command.
He added that in 2012, he was appointed as a sergeant to Izmir province. Meanwhile, he said that his father did not know his relation to the group at any time. He claimed that during his time in Izmir, he was given a phone number with only one number that was saved in it. The sergeant added that he was also positioned where wiretapping would take place.
Saying that he was regretful for involvement with the group, he added: "I wanted to talk about this issue before. But I was afraid I would be in danger if FETÖ-linked judges looked after the complaint file."
Turkey's government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, which killed more than 230 people and injured nearly 2,200 others, was organized by U.S.-based figure Fetullah Gülen's followers and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).
Gülen is also accused of running a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary, forming what is commonly known as the parallel state.