Gulen Infiltrated Turkey’s Military for Decades, Ucok Says

Followers of Fethullah Gulen, the Islamic cleric accused of orchestrating Turkey’s coup attempt, spent decades infiltrating the country’s military and used stolen entrance exams to place students in key positions in its academies, a former Air Force prosecutor said.

The tactic was known to politicians and military personnel, who either turned a blind eye or were unable to stop it because Gulen’s supporters also controlled military auditing and appointments, Ahmet Zeki Ucok said in an interview in Ankara on Monday. Both Gulen, who lives in self-exile in Pennsylvania and hasn’t entered Turkey since 1999, and his Alliance for Shared Values have denied involvement in the failed military putsch on July 15.