APNewsBreak: US judge tosses suit against reclusive cleric

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit alleging that a reclusive Muslim cleric in Pennsylvania orchestrated human rights abuses in his native Turkey, ruling the claims did not belong in U.S. courts.

The legal action was filed in December on behalf of three men who claimed Gulen sympathizers in Turkish law enforcement planted evidence, fabricated search warrants, conducted illegal wiretaps and ultimately arrested and detained the men on trumped-up charges.

"Instead of filing frivolous lawsuits that drain both U.S. and Turkish taxpayer dollars, the Erdogan government should release jailed journalists, return private property confiscated by the government and stop targeting every critical voice with politically-driven legal harassment," said Y. Alp Aslandogan, who leads a group that promotes Gulen's ideas and work.