The Turkish government claimed the failed coup was organized by Gulen’s followers and has sent official request to the USA government for his extradition.
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The Turkish government has sought to assure its citizens and foreign allies that it will not embark on a wave of repression after criticism of its response to last week’s failed coup grew louder.
Erdogan, who narrowly avoided being assassinated in a coastal hotel during last Friday’s attempted revolution, said people should not have “the slightest concern with regards to democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms”.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames the network of US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen for Friday night’s attempted coup, in which more than 230 people were killed as soldiers commandeered fighters jets, military helicopters and tanks to try to overthrow the government.
Earnest said the Turkish government had filed materials in electronic form with the USA government, which the Justice Department and State Department were reviewing.
The armed forces last used force to stage a successful coup in Turkey more than 30 years ago.
“About the Gulen movement … we have received requests before the coup and after from the government of Turkey about the movement that is existing in Canada, and we have asked for evidence because otherwise the Canadian justice system can not address an issue on the basis of allegations”, Dion explained. But it was not immediately clear if Erdogan would back the move urged by his ally in comments to broadcaster NTV.
“It appears that Erdogan will use the failed coup of 2016 for much the same aims, with much the same result”, Eissenstat wrote in an email to The Associated Press. And we just said: ‘The ball is in your camp.
Asked if other countries could have been involved in the coup, Erdogan told Al-Jazeera: “There could be”.
Erdogan has said he wants to “cleanse” all state offices of people linked to the uprising.
The European Union says Turkey’s measures against the education system, the judiciary and the media following the failed coup are “unacceptable”. As that purge extended to the country’s academic institutions on Tuesday evening, the lira weakened to within 1 percent of a record low.
Academics were banned from travelling overseas on Wednesday in what a Turkish official said was a temporary measure to prevent the risk of alleged coup plotters at universities from fleeing.
The Turkish government has previously banned access to websites deemed to be carrying material critical of Turkey, including YouTube and Twitter. It has been announced that more than 600 private schools and dormitories are to be closed in an attempt to root out those who support Mr Gulen. “The owners are the nation”, said Erdogan in the text message.
Any extradition request would face legal and political hurdles in the United States.
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Speaking with reporters after the defense ministers meeting at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the meeting focused on what happens after the defeat of Islamic State in terms of stabilization and reconstruction.
