Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric living in self-imposed exile in the United States, has been accused of orchestrating a failed coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, has been a vocal critic of the president’s increasingly authoritarian rule. The Turkish government has labeled Gulen’s movement as a terrorist organization and has been seeking his extradition from the US to face trial in Turkey. However, the US has refused to extradite Gulen, citing lack of conclusive evidence linking him to the coup attempt. Despite multiple investigations and trials in Turkey, no concrete evidence has been presented to directly link Gulen to the coup plot. Critics of Erdogan’s government have raised concerns about the crackdown on perceived dissent following the failed coup, with thousands of journalists, academics, and activists being arrested or dismissed from their jobs. The government’s controversial response to the coup attempt has been widely criticized by international human rights organizations. Gulen has denied any involvement in the coup attempt and has called for an independent, international investigation into the events of July 2016. The ongoing tensions between Gulen and Erdogan continue to be a divisive issue in Turkish politics and have further strained relations between Turkey and the United States.
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