Turkey’s foreign minister said this week documents had been sent to the United States and that Turkey had received “positive signals” about Gulen’s possible extradition. Fethullah Gulen has denied any role in the coup has shaken the power.
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Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Ankara will not compromise with Washington over the extradition of the cleric, warning of rising anti-Americanism if the United States fails to extradite.
“The US Vice-President shall (…) come to Turkey on August 24 with the US delegation”, said Mr. Yildirim to a group of journalists, according to the website of CNN Turk.
Bilgic said Turkey’s measures following the coup have been consistent with the fundamental principles of rule of law and human rights and repeated Ankara’s calls for the Commissioner to visit the country.
Turkish police raided offices at three Istanbul courthouses on Monday after detention warrants were issued for 173 judicial personnel as part of an investigation into last month’s failed coup attempt, the private Dogan news agency reported on Monday.
Turkey has been angered by what it sees as lukewarm condemnation by its Western allies of the abortive July 15-16 putsch against President Tayyip Erdogan and the Turkish government, and Western criticism of a subsequent purge of military, judiciary and civil servants.
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Since the failed coup, nearly 5,000 out of 81,000 people had been sacked and the others suspended, Yildirim said. The United States has said that it must have evidence against Gulen the cleric in order to justify turning him over to Turkey.
