^{Fethullah Gulen. Photo}

Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish cleric accused of orchestrating a violent attempted coup in 2016, has died at the age of 83, BBC reports on October 21st. Turkey’s foreign minister confirmed the news of his death. Gulen had been living in self-imposed exile in the United States. According to reports in Turkish media, he passed away after being admitted to a hospital in Pennsylvania.

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Fethullah Gulen was often regarded as Turkey’s second most powerful man. He served as the spiritual leader of the Gulen movement, an influential Islamic community with followers in Turkey and globally. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the Gulen movement for the attempted coup in 2016. Gulen, however, denied these accusations.

During a press conference in Ankara, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan confirmed that intelligence sources had verified Fethullah Gulen’s death. He described Gulen as the leader of a “dark organization”.

BBC and agencies