Royalties provide Fethullah Gülen with modest income, his lawyer says
M. Fethullah Gulen
Date posted: January 10, 2013
Turkish religious scholar Fetullah Gülen makes a living off the royalties he receives from his more than 60 books, the self-exiled Muslim leader’s lawyer has said in response to media scrutiny.”My client has written over 60 books which were all listed among best sellers. He makes a living by copyright income,” said Gülen’s lawyer, Nurullah Albayrak.
Turkish journalist Ayşenur Arslan had previously asked how Gülen managed to live in Pennsylvania based on a retirement pension alone.
“His residence costs are paid by the royalties; he has never taken anything for free from anyone,” Albayrak said in a statement.
“Gülen has diabetes, and he cannot eat heavy foods; he eats just soup and yoghurt most of the time,” Albayrak said, noting that the scholar did not need much money for living.
Albayrak also accused Arslan of defamation by raising doubts in people’s minds about his client, labeling her questions as “non-innocent.”
During a trial focusing on Gülen’s application for a U.S. green card, American prosecutors claimed Gülen had a financial worth of $25 billion that included contributions from the CIA.
Turkey’s relations with African countries have been strained following demands by the Turkish government to close Gulenist schools in Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia. After the attempted coup in Turkey on July 15, which the Turkish government has accused Gulen of masterminding, Turkey’s ambassador to Nigeria called for 17 Gulenist schools in the country to be closed.
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Responding to the allegation that the Hizmet community is behind the investigation, and to a broader one suggesting that the Hizmet movement is fighting the AKP government, both Mr. Gülen himself and the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), based in İstanbul, denied any such motivation or involvement. Furthermore, they invited the state authorities to prove those allegations, and take legal action if any evidence is found substantiating them. Mr. Gülen’s lawyer condemned and rejected the allegations as an attempt to divert public attention away from the massive bribery scandal and defame his client.
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