Gulen and Erdogan were once political allies before falling out over corruption allegations leveled at the Turkish president. As for those who planned and organized the coup, they are left to ponder the words of French revolutionary, Louis Saint-Just: “Whoever makes the revolution halfway only digs their own grave”.
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The interior ministry has dismissed nearly 9,000 police officers as part of a purge of officials suspected of involvement in the coup attempt. He says he was alarmed by the arrests of judges and calls for reinstatement of the death penalty against coup participants.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Turkey on Monday the U.S. needs “genuine evidence that withstands the standard of scrutiny that exists in many countries” before it would consider extraditing the 75-year-old Gulen, who lives in semi-seclusion in the Poconos Mountains in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania. “I mean, the lists are available already, indicating this was prepared”, enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn said.
“There is a clear crime of treason”.
“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. He expressed “deep regret” at suggestions the death penalty could be reinstated. Indeed, it would have been farcical if not so serious for the soldiers concerned, especially in light of the grisly fate that befell some of their comrades who were reportedly beheaded and mutilated by mobs of Erdogan supporters.
Erdogan told CNN that a formal written request will be submitted to Washington within days.
Turkey on Wednesday intensified a sweeping crackdown on the media, the military, the courts and the education system following an attempted coup, targeting tens of thousands of teachers and other state employees for dismissal in a purge that raised concerns about basic freedoms and the effectiveness of key institutions. “If I stayed (in Marmaris) 10, 15 minutes more, I would either have been killed or kidnapped and taken away by them“.
Kalin said the coup attempt was carried out by a tiny fraction of the army and would not affect Turkey’s fight against Islamic State or Kurdish militants.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein also called for independent observers to visit places of detention in Turkey to check on conditions, and for detainees to have access to lawyers and their families.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Saturday and Sunday that the government will take people’s expectations into consideration and discuss it with opposition parties regarding the return of the death penalty for coup plotters.
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Ninety-nine of Turkey’s roughly 360 military generals have been charged over their alleged roles in last Friday’s attempt to overthrow the government.
