Turkey has abducted the nephew of exiled religious leader Fethullah Gülen, a prominent preacher and outspoken critic of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey’s state-run news agency revealed Monday.
According to the report, Selahaddin Gülen was captured in an undisclosed overseas location, thought to be Kenya, by intelligence agents. He is wanted in Turkey for his alleged membership of a terrorist organization, though in early May a Kenyan court barred his arrest and extradition to Ankara.
The young Gülen was forced to flee his homeland following accusations by Erdoğan of his involvement in the 2016 failed coup attempt.
His 80-year-old uncle, a former Erdoğan ally now self-exiled in the United States for over 20 years, has become Ankara’s leading oppositional figure and is blamed by Erdoğan for establishing a terrorist network out to overthrow the government.