Turkey Retains Amsterdam & Partners On Expanding Gülen Investigation Into Africa And US Charter Schools
The Republic of Turkey has retained international law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP to conduct a global investigation into the activities of the organization led by the Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen.
“We have been retained by the Republic to expose allegedly unlawful conduct by the Gülen network worldwide,” said Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, during a press conference held today at the National Press Club in Washington DC. “The activities of the Gülen network, including its penetration of the Turkish judiciary and police, as well as its political lobbying abroad, should concern everyone who cares about the future of democracy in Turkey.”
The Gülen network, which operates more than 100 charter schools in the U.S., has become the subject of federal and local law enforcement and regulatory investigation in the United States, said Amsterdam. According to separate cases filed against Gülen affiliated schools, the group has allegedly engaged in systemic abuse of the American visa system, Amsterdam says.
Globally, the Gülen network operates thousands of schools. Amsterdam emphasized the need for transparency for the network’s operations around the world, including its agreement with the African Union to open 1,000 new schools in the region. “We cannot entrust an entire generation of children to a group that claims to uphold the ‘truth of light,’ yet is itself covered in darkness,” said Amsterdam.