The Gulen movement, named after US-based dissident Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey started a new wave of crackdowns on members of the movement and those allegedly linked to it following a failed coup d’etat in July.
"So Erdogan is going to look at that and treat Clinton suspiciously," Assange told the broadcaster RT, when asked what implications for Turkey-US ties the fact that some Gulen Movement members are major donors to the Clinton Foundation.
According to Assange, the election of either of the two major party nominees, both Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump, who has criticized the US funding of NATO, may seriously compromise US-Turkey ties, as long as Gulen himself remains in asylum in the United States.
On July 15, the Turkish government suppressed an attempted coup launched by a group of military personnel, detaining over 13,000 people, including almost 8,900 service personnel. Ankara has accused Gulen and his followers of having played a key role in the coup. Gulen, who has been living in the US state of Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the accusations.
