Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the United States, has denied involvement in the attempt to overthrow the government, condemning it as an affront to democracy.
Advertisement
In the interview, Erdogan also reiterated his demand to the USA for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, a US-based Turkish cleric who he accuses of being behind the coup attempt, adding that an official request will be filed this week.
The arrests come as more violence has hit the country: two police officers were killed in northern Turkey in a tarfeted attack on officers who were manning a security road block.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that 257 employees from Yildirim own office had been removed from duty.
The army, judiciary, security and civil service have all been targeted following Friday’s coup attempt, with 6000 military personnel arrested, more than two dozen generals awaiting trial, 9000 police officers sacked and nearly 3000 judges suspended.
European Union foreign ministers on Monday urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to use restraint and respect the constitution over fears he may act unconstitutionally after a recent coup d’etat attempt. It wasn’t clear what charges he was facing.
Chairing the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party group meeting at the parliament in Ankara, Binali Yildirim criticized the USA for “insistently” asking Turkey to provide evidence of the Pennsylvania-based cleric’s involvement in the attempted coup before extraditing him.
The cleric has been accused by Turkey of influencing a failed military coup in the country last week.
Yildirim praised those who had been fighting the tanks and protesting against the coup attempt. Here’s a closer look at this influential preacher.
“Some news reports, and, unfortunately, some public figures, have speculated that the United States in some way supported the coup attempt”, Bass said in a statement. Hakan Evrim, the commander of the Akinci air base, northwest of Ankara that is said to have served as the coup headquarters.
“A country that has the death penalty can’t be a member of the European Union and the introduction of the death penalty in Turkey would therefore mean the end of accession negotiations”.
The coup attempt led by a faction of Turkey’s military the night of July 15 has tested relations between the US and Turkey, which is a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally and important partner in the fight against Islamic State extremists in Syria and Iraq.
Advertisement
During their talks, Merkel also said the wave of arrests and civil servant dismissals following the attempted coup are “cause for great concern”.
