FETÖ terror leader buried at Pennsylvania residence

PENNSYLVANIA

Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the FETÖ terrorist organization, was buried on Oct. 24 at his residence in Pennsylvania, the United States, four days after his death in an apparent delay amid internal strife within the group.

The body of Gülen, who died late on Oct. 20 following a series of health problems at the age of 83, was kept at St. Luke’s Hospital, about 15 kilometers from the organization’s stronghold.

The ceremony was initially held at a baseball stadium in New Jersey. Only senior FETÖ members and his family attended the private burial at his residence following the ceremony in the stadium.

Reports from Turkish media indicated that internal conflicts over succession, as well as disagreements about funeral participation and burial protocols, significantly delayed the proceedings for the FETÖ ringleader.

Strict security measures were imposed, with access to the ceremony managed via QR-coded invitations to regulate and limit attendance.

Turkish press members were barred from the stadium in Essex, with U.S. police preventing journalists from taking photographs. Drone activity was restricted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. local time.

After the grave digging process was captured by drone cameras of many media outlets, the members of the organization stretched a tarpaulin over the pit.

According to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency, several attendees wore sunglasses, masks and hats at the stadium to avoid identification.

Turkish security sources indicated that discussions are already underway regarding FETÖ’s future leadership, with anticipated changes in the organization’s media structure also reportedly forthcoming.

Gülen lived in a sprawling estate in Pennsylvania for over two decades, using it as the headquarters of the terrorist group that orchestrated the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, in which more than 250 people were killed and over 2,700 were wounded in Türkiye.

Türkiye filed seven requests for the extradition of Gülen, who was stripped of his Turkish nationality in 2017. The terrorist leader was the prime suspect in 45 cases, including the coup attempt.