Gulen has denied plotting against Turkey and has condemned the coup attempt.
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People walk on the “Galata” bridge past giant Turkey flags, in Istanbul, on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016.
Earlier on Thursday, Erdogan vowed to go after businesses connected to Gülen. He also suggested that Erdogan staged the coup himself, noting how quickly the president was able to marshal supporters to go into the streets to support him.
Open claims of having supported Gulen, who runs a chain of Islamic charter schools in the United States, are part of Erdogan’s campaign to rally opposition to Gulen.
In a speech to the heads of chambers of commerce and bourses at the presidential palace in Ankara, Erdogan described high interest rates as oppressive. We will cut off all business links, all revenues of Gulen-linked business.
In response to the charges, Gulen voiced his belief that “the Turkish court system is without judicial independence, so this warrant is yet another example of President Erdogan’s drive for authoritarianism and away from democracy”.
The government has branded Gulen’s movement a terrorist organization and has launched a sweeping crackdown on its alleged followers since the attempted coup.
Washington previously asked for evidence that Mr Gulen was involved and said the extradition process would follow in due course.
Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, have warned that ties with the United States will be affected if it fails to extradite Gulen.
Erdogan, meanwhile, announced in a live television interview that the US’s top envoy John Kerry intends to visit Turkey later this month.
A previous submission of documents “did not, we believe, constitute a formal extradition request”, he said.
A further 70,000 people have been suspended or dismissed from their jobs in the civil service, judiciary, education, police, healthcare, the military and the media.
About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested. European Union politicians have instead focused their concerns on the continued lack of adherence to human rights and rule of law in the country.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has also been unsettled by the sacking and arrest of almost half of Turkey’s generals, and believed to include figures who worked closely with American forces at Incirlik.
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Before former allies Gulen and Erdogan publicly fell out in 2010, the schools were considered a key instrument in expanding Turkey’s clout overseas. But it is not the first arrest warrant for Gulen in Turkey.
