Turkish Cyprus designates Gülen organization as terrorist

NICOSIA

Turkish Cyprus has declared that it has designated the Fethullahist Terror Organization (FETÖ) as a terrorist organization, after the group allegedly tried to topple the Turkish government with a failed coup attempt on July 15. 

Hüseyin Özgürgün, the prime minister of Turkish Cyprus, said on July 21 after a cabinet meeting that FETÖ had been listed as a terror organization by the Turkish Cypriot government and that it would take effect after the cabinet’s decision was published in the Official Gazette on the island. 

He added he would talk about FETÖ with his counterpart when he paid a visit to the Turkish capital of Ankara. 
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish government accuse U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen and his followers in FETÖ of infiltrating state structures to form a “parallel state” and organizing the coup attempt on July 15, which failed within some 12 hours. 

Gülen had been a close ally of the government until recently and has lived in the United States since 1999.
Answering a question, Özgürgün said there had been “rumors” there were FETÖ actions in the Turkish Cypriot administration but they were not serious intelligence that required an official response. 

The Turkish government has sought the extradition of Gülen for over two years, but only a few days ago issued a formal request to the United States.