Justice Minister Akın Gürlek emphasized that the death of its ringleader Fetullah Gülen was not an end for Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the group was trying to cover up its tracks while attempting to revive, reinvent itself through front companies and social media groups while kept its financial network alive.
Gürlek spoke to the Sabah newspaper ahead of the 10th anniversary of July 15 coup attempt which was foiled at the cost of more than 250 civilian lives. Gürlek, who was appointed as justice minister in February, was a judge in Istanbul at the time of the coup attempt. During his pre-ministry career, Gürlek handled several FETÖ-related cases.
The minister told Sabah that the fight against FETÖ was not simply a criminal proceeding but a “Great Cleansing of the State,” referring to the terrorist group’s widespread infiltration into state agencies. FETÖ is accused of infiltrating its members into the judiciary, law enforcement, the army and other key institutions, something that facilitated its 2016 attempt. Before the 2016 coup attempt, authorities have been working on the expulsion of FETÖ-linked people working in the state institutions and managed to weed out hundreds. This process sped up after the coup attempt, which killed 252 people and injured 2,740 others.
