US docu director on FETO schools not surprised by coup bid

By Esra Kaymak Avci

WASHINGTON (AA) - American director Mark Hall whose work focuses on FETO's charter schools in the U.S. told Anadolu Agency he was not surprised by the recent failed coup attempt in Turkey.

"After my five years of research on Gulen movement for my documentary, I'm not surprised that it tried to overthrow the government," Hall said, adding that the schools must have had a backbreaking and corrupted affect on the U.S. as well.

Fetullah Terror Organization's (FETO) leader and the mastermind of the failed coup on July 15, Fetullah Gulen, self-identifies as a preacher, residing in Pennsylvania, U.S. since 1999.

Describing FETO's bloody coup attempt as "quite concerning", Hall said he hoped that Gulen would be extradited to Turkey.

The director also added that FETO has also much influence over several politicians, journalists and academicians in the U.S.

Hall is the director of the famous documentary Killing Ed which analyzes FETO's more than 140 charter schools across the U.S. The director has been doing his research for more than half a decade.

According to the director, he started to become interested in the schools when he realized the U.S. government was providing $500 million each year to these schools.

"Now I'm asking [the U.S. government]: were our taxes spent by Gulen on the violent coup attempt in Turkey?" he said.

Hall's comments come following the July 15 coup attempt in which more than 240 people were martyred by a small fraction of soldiers who were members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).