KGB Support to Terrorists

European Paramilitary Groups

European Paramilitary Groups - List

Italian Para-Military Groups

Italian Left Wing Subversion

European Para-Military Groups

EUROPE [1998]

Belgium:

CCC Communist Combatant Cells
JLB Julian Lahout Brigade
Federal Republic of Germany:
RAF Rote Armee Fraktion (Red Army Faction) (Formerly known as the Bader/Meinhoff Group)
RZ Revolutionare Zallon (Revolutionary Cells)
Wehrspotgruppe Hoffman (Defense Sports Group Hoffman) (Neo-Nazi)

France:

AD Action Directe (Direct Action Group)
LARF Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Faction
NO New Order (Extreme Right Wing)
RSB Raul Sandic Brigade

Greece:

ELA Epanastatikos Laikos Agonas (People's Revolutionary Struggle)
RA Revolutionary Action
N-17 November 17th Revolutionary Organization (Left-wing)
DEV-SOL (Left-Wing)

Italy:

ACN Armed Communist Nuclei
AO Autonomous Workers
BR Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades)
NAR Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari (Armed Revolutionary Nuclei) (Neo-Fascist)
ON Ordine Nero (Black Order) (Fascist)

Netherlands:

RH Rode Hulp (Red Help)
RMS South Moluccan Freedom Federation

Portugal:

CDEC Commando for the Defense of Civilians (Neo-Fascist)
ELP Exercito de Liberacao Portugues (Portuguese Liberation Army)
FP-25 Forcas Populares do 25 Abril (Popular Forces 25 April) (Trotskyite)
PACM Portuguese Anticommunist Movement (Counterterror)

Spain:

ETA Euskadi ta Askatasuna (Freedom for the Basque Homeland)
FN Fuerza Nueva (New Force) (Neo-Fascist)
FRAP Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriotico (Anti-Fascist and Patriotic Revolutionary Front)
GRAPO Grupo de Resistencia Anifascista de Primero de Octubre (lst of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Group)
NIG Nationalist Intervention Group (Right Wing)

Switzerland:

JCAG Justice Commando of the Armenian Genocide LBJ Les Beliers De Jura (Marxist)
PKC Petra Klaus Commando (International)

Turkey:

BKT Bozkurtler (Grey Wolves) (Right Wing)
DEV GENC Revolutionary Youth Federation
DEV SOL Revolutionary Left
DEV YOL Revolutionary Army
MLAPU Marksist Leninist Propaganda Silahli Birligi (Marxist-Leninist Armed Propaganda unit)
TIC Turkish Idealist Club (Right Wing)
TLPA Turk Halk Kurtulus Ordusu (Turkish People's Liberation Army)

United Kingdom:

AB The Angry Brigade
AG Army of the Gael (Right Wing)
C88 Column 88 (Neo-Fascist)
INLA Irish National Liberation Army (Marxist)
IRA Irish Republican Army
IRA(P) Provisional Irish Republican Army
UDA Ulster Defense Association (Right Wing)
UDR Ulster Defense Regiment (Right Wing)

Freedom of Russia Legion

Russian Volunteer Corps

Freedom of Russia Legion

"Freedom of Russia" Legion

A cross-border incursion into the Russian region of Belgorod on 22 May 2023 put the Free Russia Legion under the spotlight, prompting questions about this mysterious paramilitary unit of anti-Putin Russians. Russians fighting for Ukraine crossed the border north of Kharkiv into Russia’s Belgorod region, prompting accusations from Moscow and denials from Kyiv. The paramilitary group called the Free Russia Legion (and another known as the Russian Volunteer Corps) later claimed responsibility for the incursion, prompting a new round of questions about the group: Who are they and what kind of weaponry do they have?

Local Russian media also reported that an estimated 500 houses were damaged in the attack, including 200 that were destroyed. Residents who had fled their homes in Belgorod had not returned in some areas, according to the media reports, as authorities were working to identify and make safe mines that were left on the streets and in buildings in the region’s Grayvoron district.

The Kremlin said the use of US military hardware in the cross-border attack proved the West’s growing involvement in the war. The Russian military said that it routed the raiders with artillery and air attacks that killed more than 70 of what it described as “Ukrainian nationalists” on a sabotage mission designed to deflect attention from Russia’s gains in the bombed-out city of Bakhmut.

On its website, the Legion states "We are a unit of Russians, which is officially recognized by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We are fighting in full cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command. The Legion consists of the Combat Wing, which, with weapons in hand, fights together with the Ukrainian army and the All-People's Movement - these are people on the territory of Russia and around the world, united by the values of Freedom.

“It is no secret that this equipment is being used against our own military. And it is no secret for us that the direct and indirect involvement of Western countries in this conflict is growing by the day. We are drawing the appropriate conclusions,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"The Legion "Freedom of Russia" was created in the spring of 2022 based on the desire of the Russians themselves to fight against Putin's armed gang in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From the end of spring to the end of summer, the Legion fought in the format of small battle groups. In August, all legal issues, as well as security components, were formed and the mass registration of willing Russians began. At the moment, the Legionnaires are performing tasks in different directions, including one of the most intense - the Bakhmut direction.

"Our enemy is thieves, murderers and war criminals in power in Russia, who unleashed a brutal war for their own benefit. Therefore, after the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from all over Ukraine, we plan to go to the Kremlin and disperse this gang of murderers and marauders. And then - to build a new Free Russia."

In its Telegram channel, they stated "The army of the Russian Federation could not oppose anything to a group of patriotic volunteers who took up arms and were not afraid to openly go against the Moscow regime for the free future of Russia. Once again, the myth that the citizens of the Russian Federation are safe and the Russian Federation is strong has been destroyed, in fact, for years the authorities simply plundered the budget and lied that everything was fine. The Russian Federation has no reserves to respond to military crises - all military personnel are dead, wounded or in Ukraine. RF is absolutely not protected. There is panic in the Belgorod region, partly there is an organized evacuation, but for the most part there is a spontaneous flight.... Putin's troops did not distinguish themselves during these days. But they showed outstanding success in long-distance running.. .

"Colonel-General of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Lapin is trying to command a group of 15 soldiers, i.?. performs the role of junior sergeant at best. And with the heroic "For the Motherland!" leads an incomplete platoon into battle with ... with whom, by the way? There is no enemy in the video. Those couple of frightened conscripts who nevertheless carry out his commands, together with the actors, huddle against the fences, while the real hero of our time proudly walks in the middle of the road towards the enemy, whom only Lapin himself sees. An idiotic propaganda video about the courage and military bravery of a man who has never seen a war. And he won’t see it: because immediately after filming he will go back to the headquarters, send his people into the meat grinder."

Exiled Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev, the political representative of the Freedom of Russia Legion, claimed the Freedom of Russia Legion "didn't lose a single soldier" while launching this week's cross-border raids from Ukraine into Russian territory. He denied claims by Russian authorities that they have crushed the paramilitary forces, killing 70 fighters.

Ponomarev acknowledged that his paramilitary group, whose ultimate objective is to overthrow the Russian regime, received a "green light" from the Ukrainians before launching the raids, as his troops "are part of the Ukrainian military". Nevertheless, the former Russian lawmaker insisted that "not a single Ukrainian soldier has entered Russian soil", calling the raids "a totally autonomous operation by Russians inside Russia".

The entry of units (as far as it is known, a reinforced company of the "Legion of Free Russia" - part of the Foreign Corps subordinate to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, and a platoon of the Russian Volunteer Corps) into the territory of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation showed that they could just drive up to the Russian checkpoint on a large highway on the border with a country with which there is a war on light armored vehicles, shoot him, capture military personnel and equipment and then drive for a dozen kilometers. deep into Russia, eventually stopping at the regional center.

There are neither trenches along the border, nor positions of ATGMs and artillerymen on the nearest hills, but passive resistance means (concrete "dragon teeth") are placed on the highway so that it would be convenient for motorists (and drivers of enemy armored vehicles) to bypass them. The only means of rapid response from the Russian side seemed to be only obsolete helicopters - and if the Armed Forces of Ukraine on their side of the border pulled up powerful air defense, then over the past day the losses of the Russian Air Force in the Belgorod region would have been not one helicopter, but five.

Russian authorities on 23 May 2023 said they had eliminated the group of “saboteurs” responsible and injured several in the Grayvoron district 80 km north of Belgorod city, although the Free Russia Legion’s political representative told FRANCE 24 on Wednesday the group “didn’t lose a single soldier”. Moscow did not refer to the unit directly. Admitting that Russian fighters had turned against the national army and were launching attacks on Russian territory would be “really bad for Putin and Russian propaganda”, said Huseyn Aliyev, a specialist in Russian and Ukrainian security at the University of Glasgow.

Such an admission could even pose a threat to those in the Kremlin. “It is their strongest possible way to make a point, to try to show to Russian audience they exist as an opposing force to Putin’s regime,” said Glen Grant, a senior analyst at the Baltic Security Foundation and a specialist in the Russian military.

The Free Russia Legion was established in March 2022 after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for volunteers days after the Russian invasion the previous month. “It's just the same as all the other fighters in the international legion. They just happen to be Russian,” Grant said. The unit has always been shrouded in mystery, but individual members are far less enigmatic. “In Ukraine they are quite well-known because a lot of them have been interviewed by Ukrainian media or Russian opposition outlets,” Aliyev pointed out.

“Some of them, especially in the beginning, were former PoWs who were given the choice to join this Legion. I don't think most of them have a professional army background, but they have received decent training, and have combat experience because they fought in Donbas region and around Bakhmut,” Aliyev said. A former vice-president of Gazprombank, Igor Volobuev, announced in April 2022 that he was going to join, giving the Free Russia Legion one of its most famous recruits.

The Legion made much of its dual identity, sporting uniforms that display both the white, blue and white stripes of the Russian opposition and the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. Its fighters have also adopted a capital letter “L” – for “Legion” and “Liberty” – apparently in response to the “Z” that adorns Russian army tanks and uniforms.

Founded with just 100 fighters, it is difficult to know how large the Free Russia Legion was or where it had been active. But some analysts believe it had grown significantly since its inception. “It could be up to two batallions, meaning around 2,000 men,” said Stephen Hall, a Russia expert at Bath University. Most members have been vague about numbers when speaking to the media, citing hundreds of fighters with support in most of Russia’s major cities.

It is unclear whether the Legion shares a common ideology. “In terms of ideology, it is confusing. They are nothing like the [Russian] Volunteer corps, a well known far-right, proto-Nazi militia, who they seem to have fight alongside during the Belgorod raid,” Hall said. “They are driven by a broad anti-Putin ideology. It seems like they want more democracy, but maybe not in the purely Western sense of it. And let's be honest, some of them have probably joined for the better pay,” Aliyev added.

Where the unit was deployed also remains unknown. They appear to have fought in eastern Ukraine as well as in Bakhmut. But according to Aliyev it is unclear how long they stayed in Bakhmut or where they were stationed in the Donbas.

The group’s obscurity has prompted doubts as to whether it exists at all: It’s a common view in Russia, which is convenient for the Putin regime. “It’s very important for [...] Ukrainian propaganda,” Hall said. “Their mere existence shows that Russian are fighting directly Putin and it sends the message that the regime must be aware and fear possible action from inside the country. That's why there are people saying it could be a PR op for Ukraine. It’s too perfect. “One possibility is that the Legion does have some Russian fighters, mostly already leaving in Ukraine before the war, and the Legion was built around them,” Hall continued.

But most experts believe they really are Russian fighters. A phantom legion of Russian soldiers makes little sense, Aliyev said, given their active presence on social media and the fact that Ukraine “has heavily invested in this Legion, providing training and armoured vehicles. They really wanted them to be operational alongside the Ukrainian army."

“I think they didn’t really know until now how to use this Legion. For exemple, they clearly didn’t want to send them for too long [to] Bakhmut and risk losing them. So that’s why there was little information about what was going on with them,” Aliyev continued. The Free Russia Legion was too valuable a propaganda instrument to be sent into the hell of Bakhmut, and too difficult to integrate into the chain of command for complex manoeuvres in the Donbas.

The unit has a “certain degree of autonomy, and it would very well be possible that they acted on their own. But nonetheless, some sort of non-official approval from Ukrainian army official has probably be given", said Sim Tack, an analyst at Force Analysis, a US-based conflict monitoring firm. Working separately from – but in coordination with – the regular Ukrainian army made the Legion ideal for raids into enemy territory. “What this legion offers to Kyiv is plausible deniability when it comes to talking to western countries about what happened in Russian territory,” Hall said. This would cross a red line with the United States and Ukraine’s other NATO allies, which do not want Ukraine to escalate the conflict by attacking Russian territory – and especially not while using Western weapons.

Nevertheless, incursions into Russian territory make sense as a military strategy. “One outcome might be that Russia will feel obliged to move some troops to the northern part of the border in order to secure it, which could help a counter offensive if it happened in the south,” Tack said. It also highlights that Russia has “poorly guarded” territory near the border, Grant added.

All of this makes the paramilitary units a dangerous complication for the Kremlin. And if Moscow is unable to acknowledge that pro-Ukrainian Russian fighters took the army by surprise, the Kremlin will need to find other culprits to blame.

Freedom of Russia Legion

Russian Volunteer Corps

Denis Kapustin / Denis Nikitin

Denis Kapustin

Azov, Ukraine's Most Prominent Ultranationalist Group, Sets Its Sights On U.S., Europe November 14, 2018 14:41 GMT By Christopher Miller

Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC)

Early in the morning on 02 March 2023, two groups of armed militants entered the Russian villages of Lyubechane and Sushany from Ukraine, in which a total of about 400 people live. The objects of attack were not chosen by chance - the villages located at the junction of the borders of the three countries, although they administratively belong to the Bryansk region, are geographically much closer to Ukrainian Chernigov and Belarusian Gomel.

The raiders rampaged through the villages for several hours: they stopped local residents, took away their mobile phones, tied and locked people in their own homes. Gunmen opened fire on a private car transporting children to school with US-made automatic rifles, reportedly killing its driver and injuring a 12-year-old student passenger. Only by 13 o'clock the armed gang managed to be "squeezed out", as noted in official reports, into the territory of Ukraine. During the investigation, it was established that about ten people who had gone over to the side of the Armed Forces of Russian nationalists of Russian origin took part in the raid.

In the circumstances of the armed attack by a group of Ukrainian nationalists on border villages in the Bryansk region in early March 2023, the department for the investigation of war crimes, genocide and the rehabilitation of Nazism of the Main Investigative Directorate of the TFR investigated in absentia the organizer of the raid, Denis Kapustin, 39, a native of Moscow, also known as Denis Nikitin or by the nom de guerre White Rex, for committing a terrorist act involving the intentional death of a person, and have already achieved his arrest in absentia in the Basmanny District Court. The court decided that the nationalist still poses a threat to civilians, and therefore cannot remain at large. The head of the 4th department of the department for the investigation of war crimes of the Main Investigative Committee of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation recently filed a petition for the arrest of Russian Denis Kapustin with the Basmanny District Court.

Denis Nikitin, the prominent Russian soccer hooligan and MMA fighter who founded the white nationalist clothing label White Rex, had garnered a large following across Europe and the United States.

Two armed groups operating in Ukraine – Denis Kapustin’s Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the allied Freedom of Russia Legion – claimed responsibility for the incursion. Kapustin, who described himself as the commander of the RVC, spoke to reporters on 24 May 2023 on the Ukrainian side of the border with Russia a day after Moscow said it had repelled an attack on Russia’s Belgorod region that lasted almost 24 hours. “I think you will see us again on that side,” said Kapustin, known as an extreme right-wing Russian nationalist, introduced himself to reporters by his call-sign White Rex. “The operation is ongoing,” the Moscow-born Kapustin said, flanked by some 30 fighters in camouflage. “Every operation that takes place on the territory of Russia forces the military leadership to move a large amount of forces precisely to that quadrant, therefore laying bare some parts of the front, parts of the border,” he said.

Kapustin admitted his group was right-wing. He was also asked if he minded being labelled a Nazi. “I have my set of views, it’s a patriotic set of views, it’s a traditionalist set of views, it’s a right-wing set of views. You know, you’ll never find me waving a flag with a swastika, you’ll never find me raising my hand in a Hitler sign. So why would you call me that?”

Described by the United States-based Anti-Defamation League [ADL] as “a Russian neo-Nazi”, Kapustin’s audacious cross-border raid embarrassed the Kremlin but also raised questions about the involvement of far-right Russian nationalists in Ukraine and how this might affect Western allies’ readiness to supply Kyiv with weapons. There are various other "Denis Kapustins" - an olympic athelete, and actor, and a profession poker player, but "White Rex" is someone else.

ADL reports "Denis Kapustin (also known as Denis Nikitin) is a Russian neo-Nazi who lived in Germany for many years. He has been involved in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA ) scene in Europe and has trained young members of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany and others to fight. He also has ties to Azov, the Ukrainian extremist group. Since January 2021, Kapustin has co-hosted a podcast with Rise Above Movement leader Robert Rundo called Active Club Podcast."

In 2001, together with his mother, he moved to Germany under a program for Jewish emigrants. Settled in Cologne. Became a member of groups of football fans. He made acquaintances with neo-Nazis from among them. According to his own words, in the early 2000s he was a member of a skinhead gang, participated in organizing the murders and beatings of labor migrants. In the late 2000s, he returned to Russia, to Moscow, where he became close friends with ultra-right activists, as well as CSKA fans. He worked in various places, including being a bouncer and a cleaner.

He was also involved in the sale of clothing brand Thor Steinar, popular with neo-Nazis. In 2008, he founded the White Rex clothing brand, the logo of which was the image of a Viking head in a helmet against the background of a Kolovrat. The brand gained great popularity first among the Russian and then among the European ultra-right. In 2011, under the White Rex brand, he held the Spirit of the Warrior martial arts tournament in Voronezh. The event attracted many far rightists, and Kapustin soon began holding similar tournaments in other Russian cities.

Since 2012, he held tournaments in European countries, including Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the Netherlands and others. Their participants were usually representatives of neo-Nazi and nationalist groups. He also arranged group training in close combat. With the proceeds, he supported ultra-right organizations and helped in holding concerts of musical groups close to them in spirit. In 2019, he was named by the German edition of Spiegel as one of the leaders of European neo-Nazis.

Olena Semenyaka, the international secretary for Azov's political wing, the National Corps, made several outreach trips to Western Europe to meet with far-right groups and spread Azov's ultranationalist message. And when she's not doing it herself, Semenyaka said, that task is sometimes given to Denis Nikitin. In November 2017, the two traveled together to Warsaw and participated in the Europe Of The Future 2 conference organized by Polish white supremacist group and "ally" Szturmowcy (Stormtroopers), where they were meant to speak alongside American Richard Spencer, Semenyaka said. But Polish authorities barred Spencer from entering the country and he was unable to attend. Often in Kyiv when he's not traveling through Europe or visiting family in Germany, Nikitin operated as a sort of unofficial Azov ambassador-at-large and organized MMA bouts at the Reconquista Club, an ultranationalist haunt that is combination restaurant, sports center, and fight club.

The use of Nazi symbols in the Ukrainian troops may have a negative impact on the support of Kyiv by Western countries, although so far the authorities and public organizations in these states prefer not to pay attention to such cases. The New York Times writes about this on 04 June 2023.

The publication cited several cases when photographs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with symbols of Nazi armed formations or other images used by far-right organizations were published on the pages of the Ukrainian armed forces and NATO on social networks. When users or journalists pointed to the connection of these symbols with Nazi ideology, the pictures were quickly deleted. As the publication points out, "Ukraine's ambiguous stance on these symbols, and sometimes their acceptance, threaten to give new life to images that the West has tried to destroy for more than half a century."

However, the newspaper pointed out, there had been no practical reaction from the West to the incidents with Nazi symbols. "These images have not yet undermined international support for the war. However, supporters of Ukraine, Western journalists and diplomats have found themselves in a difficult position - if you draw attention to these symbols, this will help spread Russian propaganda. If you don't say anything, they will spread," points out The New York Times.

Fethullah Gulen

The Gulen Affair

Military Coup 2016

Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)

This page about the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) is - neccessarily - told from the perspective of the Turkish govenment - otherwie, there woul be nothing to tell. In the aftermath of the July 2016 coup attempt, the Turkish government labeled the movement of self-exiled Fethullah Gulen as the “Fethullah Terrorist Organization” (“FETO”). The “FETO” is not a designated terrorist organization in the United States. The Turkish government continued to detain and arrest Turkish citizens as well as foreign citizens residing in Türkiye for alleged FETO or terrorism-related links, often based on scant evidence and minimal due process. A study prepared by Department of Internal Security Strategies aimed that the information obtained with a comprehensive and strict research related to the Fethullah Terrorist Organization will be reported in brief and to achieve facts about the organisation based on this information and to inform readers in this respect. In this regard, it was attempted to reach facts about this organisation based on this information, obtained about the Fethullah Terrorist Organization from its foundation till today, and by reporting the information related to the organisation in short. Therefore, of the terrorist organisations Turkey is facing and against which showing an intensive fight, it is necessary to gain insight into the FETO more in terms of international security. In addition to many research and studies on the FETO, it has been determined that there is a need for a comprehensive study providing information on this organisation based on the information obtained until today. FETO is an illegal organisation aiming to establish a new political, economic and social order, which have no relevance to Islam, by exploiting the religion. Carrying out many criminal activities such as oppression, blackmail, threat, assassination, conspiracy, espionage, money laundering, exploiting judicial power for its interests, FETO attacked directly and explicitly to the nation's sovereign rights,r democracy and the values of the Republic of Turkey by going further in the coup attempt of July 15. On the evening of July 15, 2016, the “Fethullahist Terrorist Organization” (FETO) launched a bloody coup attempt against the people and the government of the country. Their aim was to establish a radical, fundamentalist regime, loyal only to their ringleader Fetullah Gülen. It was understood in a short time that this was more than a treacherous plot: It was a terrorist campaign. Unfortunately, 246 Turkish citizens were left dead and more than 2000 wounded. This coup attempt was staged in no uncertain terms by the Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization (FETÖ). Our Government has been constantly exposing the real motives of this terrorist group and its leader, Fethullah Gülen, to all allies and partners. The foiled coup is the latest criminal act revealing the danger posed by FETÖ. As FETO affiliated army units left their barracks to occupy key locations, such as the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul and fighter jets and attack helicopters bombed strategic targets including the Parliament, Presidential compound, army and police headquarters; thousands of civilians took to the streets to stop this unprecedented heinous coup attempt. The plotters killed 251 innocent civilians and left thousands injured. On that night the Turkish people defended democracy with their lives. This heroic response was something the conspirators did not foresee. To understand what transpired, one has to understand the true nature of FETO. FETO was established in the late 1960’s as a so-called “religious movement”. In the guise of promoting education and inter-religious dialogue, it managed to cover its malign intentions. The well-planned and wide-spread infiltration by FETO members and converts into the army, law enforcement, judiciary and numerous government institutions, including my Ministry, was carried out for decades clandestinely for an overarching plan, of which the final phase was unleashed on July 15, 2016. Had the coup attempt succeeded, there would have been a very different Türkiye today. Democracy would not have existed and fundamental rights and freedoms would have been suspended indefinitely. The nation would have fallen in the hands of an extremist government. The Gulen movement (FETO) had been able to obtain qualified and capable human resources from the people it has trained and given importance to education and educational institutions since its establishment. Getting promotion in the organizational hierarchy is possible with “esotericism”. So, social and religious life is shaped by the interpretations of the organization leader. The aim is to acquire juveniles with social belonging and social identity. Additionally, the concept of “acquaintance” is important for this terrorist organization. According to radicalization theories, the intensity of one's relations with family, relatives and friends is effective in the process of being a member of a terrorist organization. If one’s closeness with friends or other social factors is tight, then it is difficult for these persons to radicalize. For this reason, FETO cut off the previous life relations of their new members and even gave them new names and new identities that only each other could recognize with the go into FETO. The organization gained the legitimacy of activities with the so-called "charity" works it carried out. Accordingly, link up with inhabitants in both domestic and abroad especially “victim”, “orphans”, “aidless” youth mass. , it has been promised that the organization will be given the titles of "abi", "abla" and "imam" to take their place among the hierarchy of the organization on the condition of unconditionally fulfilling the mission and vision of the organization. The members of the organization were presented as privileged, important and influential people in the society compared to others through these promises. It has been tried to create a perception that organization’s members are an important part of the organization and that they will be respected people by giving these “status” to the members of the organization experiencing an inferiority complex/complicity. The Gulen movement brought these human resources to high-level public positions in different state institutions and organizations such as the judiciary, civil service, medicine, military and academia. Ultimately, with the coup attempt of 15 July 2016, it left the hizmet movement and revealed that it was a putschist parallel state structure. FETO not only controlled a significant portion of educational institutions, but also owned numerous financial institutions. Their bank accounts were fed by prominent FETO members in industry and commerce, as well as by officials and members of the public. Many innocent civilians were also lured into contributing to FETO’s finances as their piety was manipulated. The enormous income driven from their schools around the globe was channeled into these accounts clandestinely waiting for their ultimate move. Following the bloody coup attempt of July 15, 2016, a resolute cleansing of the public sector, including government institutions and the military, as well as of the private sector from all FETO affiliated persons and companies was initiated. Some prominent conspirators have been apprehended. Others escaped justice and found refuge in foreign countries. The head of the FETO terrorist organization, Fethullah Gülen, still resides in the United States. Our government has been requesting the extradition of Gülen to Türkiye from the United States as well as that of FETO members from European countries for years. Unfortunately, these requests have not been fulfilled yet. On the other hand, elsewhere in the world, an increasing number of governments understand the danger this terrorist organization also poses to them and are taking the necessary steps. FETO is also engaged in illegal activities such as visa fraud, money laundering and arms trafficking. Consequently, FETO members are being cleared from public and private sectors in many countries. Many schools affiliated with this terrorist organization abroad have been transferred to the Turkish Maarif Foundation after 2016. Today, Maarif Schools are functioning in many countries and are providing excellent education worldwide. The nature and scope of Türkiye’s fight against FETO is no different than that exercised by other countries against organizations which had terrorized officials and civilians alike, and endangered democratic values, fundamental rights and freedoms. Türkiye is doing what the respective countries in their fight against terrorism have done in the past. All procedures are in compliance with law. Terrorism does not have a nationality, ethnicity or religion. This menace threatens humanity as a whole. Therefore, the response to this threat must be united and determined. No state has the luxury to differentiate between terrorists and no terrorist organization can be classified as “useful” according to preferences. FETO is responsible for the loss of hundreds of lives as well as other grave crimes against the Turkish people. Six years after July 15, 2016, Türkiye continues its resolute fight against FETO, just as it continues its fight against other terrorist organizations such as the PKK, PYD-YPG, DHKP-C and DAESH. The Human Rights Watch's 2016 world report stated that there was no evidence to prove the charges of “terrorism” held against the Gülent movement, which was inspired by the teachings of prominent Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen. “Prosecutions of journalists, judges, prosecutors and police for membership of an alleged ‘Fethullah Gülen Terrorist Organization' were ongoing at time of writing, although there is no evidence to date that the Gülen movement has engaged in violence or other activities that could reasonably be described as terrorism,” the HRW report reads. The report titled "World Report 2016: ‘Politics of Fear' Threatens Rights” was released on 27 January 2016 in Istanbul.

Pointing to legal proceedings launched against the police and judicial members deemed as being close to the Gülen movement following a major corruption scandal in December 2013, the HRW went on to state: “The AK Party government in 2015 continued efforts to purge the police and judiciary of alleged supporters of the Gülen movement. During 2015, prosecutors, judges, and police officers with perceived links to the Gülen movement were jailed and charged with plotting against the government and membership of a terrorist organization. The main evidence being cited against judges and prosecutors at the time of writing was decisions taken in the course of their professional duties rather than any evidence of criminal activity.”

The government continued to dismiss military, security, and civil servants from public office. Since the 2016 coup attempt, authorities have dismissed or suspended upwards of 100,000 civil servants and government workers, including more than 60,000 police and military personnel and more than 4,000 judges and prosecutors, arrested or imprisoned more than 95,000 citizens, and closed more than 1,500 NGOs on terrorism-related grounds, primarily for alleged FETO ties. Minister of Internal Affairs Ali Yerlikaya announced 28 Deember 2023 that 445 active police officers who were found to be affiliated with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) were suspended. "Within the scope of the retrospective studies carried out by our General Directorate of Security KOM Presidency on digital materials, 445 active police officers who were found to be in contact or affiliated with FETO were suspended. An administrative investigation was opened against these individuals. We will continue our fight against terrorist organizations and collaborators without stopping and hesitation. "

NEWSLETTER

Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list