16 May 2017•Update: 01 August 2017
BRUSSELS
The Fetullah Terror Organization (FETO) has been retreating from businesses and institutions it operates across Europe since last July’s attempted coup in Turkey, according to Anadolu Agency correspondents based on the continent.
Ankara has said FETO, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gulen, was responsible for the coup attempt, which led to the deaths of 249 people, as well as other previous efforts to overthrow the government by infiltrating state agencies.
Over decades, the group has established a network of schools, colleges, newspapers, commercial enterprises and foundations across the world. It has primarily focused on Turkish expatriate and Muslim communities.
However, since last year’s takeover attempt, several FETO-linked ventures have closed or been scaled down.
In the Netherlands, the Zaman Vandaag newspaper -- closely tied to the Zaman newspaper in Turkey, which was closed in March last year -- has closed and reopened as the Kanttekening.
According to the Anadolu Agency correspondent based in the country, its first edition ran an article attacking Turkish-Dutch lawmakers Tunahan Kuzu and Selcuk Ozturk.
In Belgium, the Vuslat Association put its building in Beringen up for sale, according to the Het Belang Van Limburg newspaper.
The newspaper reported that the association closed after being targeted by vandals who daubed anti-FETO slogans on its walls and broke windows following the attempted coup.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, a school tied to FETO based in capital Sarajevo has been sold to a U.S. company while another school in the capital associated with FETO has been taken over by a Turkish-backed school.
