By Ertugrul Cingil
NEW JERSEY (AA) – A close relative of a top accused plotter of the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, suspected of giving financial support to the plotters, is living in the U.S. state of New Jersey and running a business there, as shown in video footage taken this week by Anadolu Agency.
After the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, which martyred 250 people and injured 2,200 others, members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the plot, have hidden out abroad, including Fetullah Gulen, a longtime U.S. resident.
Anadolu Agency filmed Abdulhadi Yildirim, the brother-in-law of Adil Oksuz, a top coup attempt suspect, in front of his luxury car dealership in the Edgewater borough talking to his employees and kissing an American flag, then handing the flag to an employee to kiss.
He was caught on film by Anadolu Agency correspondents shortly after Oksuz was allegedly spotted in the German capital Berlin.
Earlier Aynur Oksuz, the accused coup-plotter’s wife, was also caught on film by Anadolu Agency correspondents in New Jersey, where she lives with her brother along with her three children.
An investigation is ongoing into Yildirim’s alleged financial support to FETO.
Yildirim also allegedly plays a strong role in relations between Oksuz and Kemal Batmaz — the accused second-in-command of the coup attempt — and provided them with logistical support in the US.
Yildirim also had a partnership at a company related to Kaynak Holding, which Batmaz was managing.
– Adil Oksuz
Adil Oksuz, a senior figure in FETO, is accused of masterminding the defeated coup.
The 51-year-old former theology lecturer has been on the run for almost two years.
Turkish officials have repeatedly appealed to the German government to arrest and extradite Oksuz, after receiving dozens of tips, indicating that he was hiding in Germany.
Since last November, German police have been actively looking for the chief coup suspect, but have so far failed to find him, according to diplomatic sources.
Several witnesses recently told Anadolu Agency that Turkey’s most wanted man stayed at a small apartment in Berlin early this year under the protection of FETO members.
Ali A., a Berlin-based Turkish businessman with suspected ties to FETO, provided financial support for the group to rent a flat in Berlin’s Neukoelln district, witnesses said.
In Germany, home to more than 3 million Turkish immigrants, FETO has a large network with dozens of private schools, businesses, and media organizations.
Since the 2016 defeated coup attempt, nearly 4,000 FETO suspects have come to Germany from Turkey and other countries, according to local media reports.
Several FETO suspects, including former soldiers and diplomats, have applied for asylum in various German federal states.
