FETO pumps money into some US media

Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) has allegedly funded several US media outlets as propaganda tools against the Turkish state through its journalist foundation.

US-based preacher Fetullah Gulen is shown in this still image taken from a video, as he speaks to journalists at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania July 16, 2016.
Reuters

US-based preacher Fetullah Gulen is shown in this still image taken from a video, as he speaks to journalists at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania July 16, 2016.

Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) transferred more than $3.3 million to several US media outlets through The Journalists and Writers Foundation (JWF), according to Turkish daily Yenisafak, who cited Turkey’s Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK). MASAK detected money transfers from the foundation to The Wall Street Journal, one of the leading daily newspapers in the US.

FETO is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the Turkish government, headed by US-based Fetullah Gulen, that orchestrated the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey.  The rogue soldiers killed 250 people and injured thousands.

JWF, which was based in Turkey, was established by Gulen in 1993. It was closed by a decree after July 15 after its members were accused of taking part in the coup attempt. FETO-linked private companies funded the JWF with $4.8 million for lobbying activities in the US between 2011-2016.

According to Yenisafak, MASAK detected a money transfer in 2014 and FETO leader Gulen’s exclusive interview with the Wall Street Journal was published a week after that money transfer. In his interview, Gulen denounced the Turkish government and then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accusing them of being undemocratic. He also groundlessly called Western countries to intervene in Turkish internal affairs.

In December 2013, before the exclusive interview, Zekeriya Oz, a prosecutor belonging to FETO, ordered the arrests of Erdogan loyalists, including top businessmen and bureaucrats, on allegations of corruption and dodging sanctions against Iran.

On the first anniversary of the failed coup, the Wall Street Journal also published another exclusive interview with Gulen, where he again accused the Turkish government, which he tried to topple a year before, of being undemocratic.

JWF is one of the most important foundations for FETO, and its management team leads the organisation. An operation conducted in Istanbul sought to find 112 members of JWF, and arrested 45 of them. Most members of JWF fled abroad after the failed coup.

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) terminated all affiliations with the JWF and other FETO-linked organisations in April.

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