Cem Küçük, a staunchly pro-government journalist who is known for his attacks on government critics on social media, has said the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has established a special unit to bring Gülen followers who fled the country in the wake of a government crackdown on the movement back to Turkey.
“The state has established a special unit and allocated a sizeable budget to bring FETÖ sympathizers abroad back here through ‘all means.’ Oh man-slayer FETÖ sympathizers, we know where each and every one of you are. You will be taken from your warm beds one day and packed up like [jailed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah] Öcalan,” Küçük wrote in a series of messages from his Twitter account on Wednesday.
“FETÖ” is a derogatory term and acronym for the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization, coined by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AKP government to refer to the Gülen movement, which Erdoğan and the AKP accuse of masterminding a failed coup attempt on July 15. The movement strongly denies having any role in the coup attempt.
The government launched a massive purge against Gülen followers after the coup attempt. About 120,000 people have been purged from state bodies, in excess of 80,000 detained and over 36,000 have been arrested since the coup attempt due to alleged Gülen links.
Hundreds of people have had to flee Turkey and taken refuge in other countries to avoid the government crackdown.
In another tweet, Küçük wrote: “Vile Germany has stood behind Zekeriya Öz. Look what will happen and how that Zekeriya is brought here by force.”
Öz is one of the public prosecutors who took part in Dec. 17-25 corruption probes in which senior members of the AKP government were implicated.
He reportedly fled to Germany after a warrant was issued for his arrest last year.
Küçük was referring to a statement from German Justice Minister Heiko Mass who on Tuesday ruled out politically motivated extraditions to Turkey.