FETO-linked school in Ethiopia faces criminal charges

By Tufan Aktas

ADDIS ABABA (AA) - Former employees of a school in Ethiopia linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the terror group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, faces criminal charges.

A complaint was filed against the administration and teachers of the FETO school, as well as members of the terror group, over charges including "stealing aid money, embezzlement, and tax evasion", sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

While a large stack of documents and evidence were submitted to the prosecutor, the sources said the suspects accused of the charges included senior FETO members and teachers.

Last year, shortly after the Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome said the FETO-linked schools will be handed to the Turkish government, the schools were fraudulently sold to a German citizen.

Adnan Azak, known as the former so-called "British Imam" of the terror group, went to Ethopia to stop the transfer of the schools to the Turkish government.

Azak has been visiting Ethiopia frequently since last year. It is known that the schools in the East African nation are managed by Celil Aydin who has lived in the country for years.

After the fraudulent transfer, the five FETO-affiliated schools were renamed "Intellectual Schools".

Ethiopia has revoked the license of these schools and another school in the ancient city of Harar, located east of the country.

FETO and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the failed coup of July 15, 2016, which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.