“So this is sufficient ground”.
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Earnest said the Turkish government had filed materials in electronic form with the USA government, which United States officials were reviewing. He said any extradition request from Turkey, once submitted, would be evaluated under the terms of a treaty between the two countries.
The air base at Incirlik, Turkey, used to launch U.S.-led coalition airstrikes and other missions against Islamic State militants remains without power four days after a failed coup.
“We need unity … and brotherhood now”, he said. They follow earlier aggressive moves by Erdogan’s administration against Gulen loyalists in the government, police and judiciary following corruption probes targeting Erdogan associates and family members in late 2013 – prosecutions the government says were orchestrated by Gulen.
The Interior Ministry said nearly 9,000 police and other officials were dismissed on suspicion of links to the coup bid by an army faction.
Tuesday’s dismissals touched every aspect of government life.
Turkey’s high education board has also forced the resignation of more than 1,500 university deans.
On Tuesday, they shut down media outlets deemed to be supportive of the cleric and said 15,000 people had been fired from the education ministry, 492 from the Religious Affairs Directorate, 257 from the prime minister’s office and 100 intelligence officials.
Some Western leaders expressed concern that Erdogan, who said he was nearly killed or captured by the mutineers, was using the opportunity to consolidate power and further a process of stifling dissent. Dozens of others were still being questioned. We would like to see co-operation from the USA authorities on this issue.
The EU is “a community of values, therefore the institution of the death penalty can only mean that such a country could not be a member”, said spokesman Steffen Seibert, the Associated Press reports.
Germany, Austria and France also warned separately that bringing back the death penalty, which Turkey abolished in 2004, would undo years of membership talks that began in 2005.
“In a country where our youths are killed with tanks and bombs, if we stay silent, as political people we will be held responsible in the afterlife”, Mr Erdogan said, pointing out that capital punishment exists in several countries around the world, including the United States and China.
He was marched with his hands cuffed behind his back through the streets following the coup attempt.
The government’s efforts at reasserting control – including the rapid identification of judges believed to be behind the coup attempt and among the thousands who were arrested over the weekend – was “exactly what we have feared,” Johannes Hahn, the European Union’s chief for the bloc’s enlargement and neighborhood policy told The Wall Street Journal. The explosions damaged the roof of one of the buildings and tore down its front wall, exposing dust-covered bunk beds.
“None of the coups have directed guns at their people, none of the coups have bombed their people”.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim accused Washington, which said it will only consider extradition if clear evidence is provided, of double standards in its fight against terrorism.
“We thank our European friends for their support against the coup, however their sentences starting with “but” did not please us at all”, he said.
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Regarding Turkey’s demand that Gulen be extradited, Yildirim compared the situation to the US hunt for Osama bin Laden after the September 11 attacks.
