Turkey has cracked down heavily on those it believes responsible for the coup attempt, with much of the emphasis on perceived supporters of the cleric.
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Turkey’s government has repeatedly said the deadly coup attempt, which martyred at least 238 people and injured almost 2,200 others, was organized by the followers of US -based preacher Fetullah Gulen.
Since the failed coup, the Turkish government has launched a sweeping crackdown on Gulen’s movement, which it characterizes as a terrorist organization.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Mr Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania, of masterminding the plot which saw soldiers take control of bridges on the Bosphorus, the state broadcaster and the main airport in Istanbul.
“I have repeatedly condemned the coup attempt in Turkey and denied any knowledge or involvement”, he said.
Separately, the deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Mehdi Eker, said countries around the world need to take action against schools or other establishments linked to Gulen. “They are saying, ‘Wait for August 14, ‘” the president said at a consultation meeting with heads of Turkish commerce at the Presidential Palace.
On Thursday, Erdogan was again on the stump against Gulen, urging Turkish business leaders to purge their companies of any employees suspected of being Gulenists.
Describing his client as an “elderly, frail religious leader”, Weingarten argued that Gulen, who lives in a compound in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, has done nothing that would meet any of the legal justifications for extradition under USA law and that he poses no threat.
Earlier in the day, Erdogan said in a speech live from the presidential palace that businesses linked to Gulen would also come under scrutiny and would be cut off.
Cavusoglu said: “We have never made compromises on our understanding of democracy and will never do”.
Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the USA will extradite Gulen if Turkey gives the U.S.
Many people were detained in the raid on the offices of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Tubitak) in the north-western province of Kocaeli, NTV said, without giving details.
“This is group is a cult-like organisation, which has infiltrated the Turkish public institutions”, she said.
He said “there is no realistic perspective for membership” for Turkey.
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“The (Gulen movement) is not only a threat to Turkey, it is a threat to all countries in which it has a presence”, Erdogan said during their joint news conference.
