President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday harshly criticized the president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), Bruno Kahl, after reports about him not seeing a direct link between the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and the July 15 coup attempt in Turkey surfaced in the German media. Speaking at a rally in the western province of Denizli, Erdoğan railed at Kahl for his remarks about FETÖ’s role in the coup attempt, saying: “He says they don’t see FETÖ behind this incident. Look at them. What do you know about FETÖ being a terrorist group? Talk about this to your contacts in the MİT [National Intelligence Organization]. Who do you think you are? Don’t cross the line.”

The president asserted that top German authorities made Kahl say it. German daily Der Spiegel recently reported that the spy chief was convinced on FETÖ’s direct link to the coup attempt, although he obtained information from different sources.

“What we saw as a result of the coup could have taken place either way, perhaps not in the same extent,” Kahl said.

He even claimed that President Erdoğan used the coup attempt as a pretext to dismiss civil servants and imprison hundreds. The BND head’s statements, however, were received with criticism, as in Turkey both the ruling Justice and Development (AK Party) and the opposition is convinced of FETÖ’s involvement in the foiled coup attempt.

Known to be a safe haven for FETÖ members, Germany is one of the top destinations for Gülenists. As many as 4,000 FETÖ members have fled to Germany, a coup plotter confessed in his testimony. Recently, Parliamentary Secretary of the Interior Ministry Günter Krings responded to a question from Özcan Mutlu of the Green Party (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen) during a parliamentary session last week.

Mutlu asked: “How many Turkish diplomats have applied for asylum in Germany since the failed coup attempt in Turkey, and how does the German government deal with possible extradition requests from Turkey?” “After the attempted coup in Turkey, 35 persons with diplomatic passports submitted an asylum application to the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF),” he responded.

FETÖ is also well established in Germany. According to figures, there are 24 state schools, more than 300 associations and at least 150 private-tutoring schools run by FETÖ.

The FETÖ, led by U.S.-based Fetullah Gülen, sought to topple the Turkish government and seize power on July 15 through a failed military coup.

Source:Daily Sabah