EU needs evidence from Turkey to deem cleric’s network as terrorist

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016 (Photo: Reuters)

The European Union does not share Turkey's view that the network of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen is a terrorist organisation and would need to see "substantive" evidence to change its stance, the EU's counter-terrorism coordinator said.

The comments by Gilles de Kerchove are likely to infuriate Ankara, which accuses Gulen of masterminding a failed military coup last year, in which more than 250 people were killed. Gulen has denied the charge and condemned the coup.