Turkish televangelist’s ‘kittens’ carry double pistols, rape common: Former follower

ISTANBUL

A former disciple of Turkish televangelist Adnan Oktar, who was detained on July 11, has said some of his female followers, dubbed “kittens,” carry two pistols on them, “as rape is common” inside the cult, which young children have also been victim to.

“This organization is full of filth on the inside. Children aged seven to 17 are being sexually abused. Some girls have repeatedly been raped. Some kittens carry two illegally-acquired pistols with them when they hang around in the streets,” Ceylan Özgül told state-run Anadolu Agency on July 11.

Özgül said she had joined Oktar’s group in 2006 and “escaped” in 2017.

“I have noticed their activities against the state and their activities abroad. I was emotionally disturbed, so I escaped,” she said.

Özgül also said she believed the 30 charges laid by prosecutors against Oktar and his 234 followers were not baseless.

“I have personally witnessed some of the crimes listed in the arrest warrants. This is a group that conspires against Turkey,” she said.

When asked why she had joined the group, Özgül said she had “wanted to learn Islam” during her university years.

“I believed in them and then I found myself as their captive. You will soon learn of what big filth we have left behind after you see all the things they have done,” she added.