Turkey has demanded extradition of Gulen from the United States.
Husamettin Ä degreesnaà §, the chairman of Turkey's DumlupÄ ±nar University's Department of Political Science and International Relations, says that U.S. officials are worried that their dark secrets may be uncovered in case of extradition of Gulen.
Ä degreesnaà § was quoted by Daily Sabah as saying: "They are worried that FETÃ?-CIA relations will be uncovered. Also, some senators and political agents are involved in these dark relations. If they extradite FETÃ? members and its head to Turkey, these dark secrets can be revealed."
Ä degreesnaà § said that the issue of FETÃ? has been used as leverage against Turkey to punish the country's independent stance from the NATO-U.S. axis in foreign relations. They also use FETÃ? and its agents against Turkey in international platforms to discipline the country.
Turkey has sent seven extradition requests for Gulen to Washington so far, but unfortunately, has seen little progress in his extradition.
Gulen, who arrived in the United States in 1999, currently lives in a luxurious retreat in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, in self-imposed exile.
Former Justice Minister Bekir BozdaÄ? went to the U.S. several times to expedite the legal process and met with U.S. authorities, including former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions; however, no formal steps have been taken on the issue so far, according to Daily Sabah.
Gulen's activities in US
Gulen's group is still very active in many different fields in many US states. It operates over 173 charter schools that enroll over 85,000 students in 26 states. It has some 312 educational facilities in the U.S. and receives almost $600 million per year for these schools, said Husamettin Ä degreesnaà §, adding U.S. officials continue to accept applications from Gulen group for new schools.
"We see that a couple of new schools are opened each year despite official local investigations. They have the second largest charter school operation in the nation with U.S. taxpayers' money. These schools received more than an estimated $800,000,000 in taxpayer funds," Ali Ã?Ä ±nar, the president of the U.S.-based Turkish Heritage Organization, told Sabah.
Texas has the most Gulen affiliated charter schools with 63. They are also very active in the academic world, media and politics. Many of Gulen group members work behind the scene and partner with anti-Turkish groups that try to hurt the relationship between the two NATO Allies, he added.
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