Greek police ‘avert plan to install Gülenists’ in Greece: Kathimerini

ATHENS

Three United States nationals of Turkish origin were stopped at the Athens International Airport and repatriated to New York, over suspicions of planning to set up a network of Fethullah Gülen supporters in Greece, daily Kathimerini reported on March 24. 

“Greek security services averted a plan to install supporters of Fethullah Gülen in Greece,” the daily said. Gülen is an exiled Turkish cleric, who is accused by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup in 2016 and for being the founding leader of the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

The three suspects presented themselves as members of non-government organizations and real estate investors when they arrived in Athens on March 19, according to the news report.

However, Greek police officers who questioned them deemed they had intentions to locate facilities for hosting supporters of Gülen, particularly in the broader Athens area.

Due to the sensitivity of the case, it was handled with great secrecy by a small team of government officials.

“Greek government officials warn that the creation of a network of Gülenists on Greek soil would pose a threat to national security at a time of rising tensions between Greece and Turkey,” the daily reported, referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s repeated calls to the U.S. to extradite Gülen, who is being tried in absentia.