Turkey has arrested a key aide to the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was accused by Ankara of plotting the failed coup attempt, local media reported on Saturday. “I said to him that he needs to make sure that not just he, but everybody in his government understand that those reports are completely false because when rumors like that start swirling around, that puts our people at risk on the ground in Turkey and it threatens what is a critical alliance and partnership between the USA and Turkey”, Obama said.
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Gulen left Turkey for the U.S. in 1999.
Turkish authorities earlier on Saturday detained Mohammet Sait Gulen, one of Gulen’s nephews, NTV reported.
FILE In this Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 file photo, Turkish mounted Presidential Guards ride for the welcoming ceremony of Australia’s governor general Peter Cosgrove at Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Presidential palace in Ankara, Turkey.
“This is not a democratic government”, he said, outlining the measures the president has taken to crack down on those behind the attempted coup on July 15.
And it has disbanded the presidential guard after already detaining almost 300 members suspected of plotting against Erdogan, and detained Muhammet Sait Gulen, a nephew of the cleric.
“There will no longer be a presidential guard, there is no goal, there is no need”, the minister told A Haber TV.
“We decided that there won’t be a guards unit in this compound anymore”, he said.
In his decree, Erdogan extended to a maximum of 30 days from four days the period in which some suspects can be detained.
At least 270 people were killed during the coup attempt, including 179 civilians, 62 police and five loyalist soldiers.
Turkey readied Sunday for its first cross-party rally to condemn the bloody coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as his government pressed on with a purge of suspected state enemies.
The failed coup was led by Col. Muharrem Kose, a former Turkish military officer who was dishonorably discharged in March 2016 for his alleged association with anti-government and US-based dissident Fethullah Gulen.
Critics of Mr Erdogan fear he is using the abortive coup to wage an indiscriminate crackdown on dissent.
President Erdogan declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. “We want to make certain that as the response to the coup is implemented that it fully respects the democracy that we are supporting”, Kerry told reporters.
The rapid pace of arrests since the coup attempt has anxious many of Turkey’s Western allies, who say they see the country going down an increasingly authoritarian road.
It is expected to be ratified by parliament, where his party holds the majority.
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Turkey has imposed a three-month state of emergency, saying it would enable authorities to effectively root out supporters of the failed coup.
