Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday demanded two life sentences plus 1,900 years in prison for US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who Ankara has blamed for masterminding a failed coup bid last month, local media said.
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Tensions between Turkey and the European Union have sharply risen, following the failed coup in July which Erdogan has accused of being promoted by the U.S. and the 75-year-old US-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey wants to extradite.
Turkish police raided the country’s biggest courthouse and two other halls of justice in Istanbul on Monday, detaining dozens of judicial personnel as part of their investigation into last month’s attempted military coup.
It may be mentioned that after the unsuccessful military coup, more than 35000 persons were arrested and a large number of officials belonging to judiciary and education have been suspended. “But, my valuable citizens, we won’t act in the spirit of vengeance”, Yildirim said during his weekly address to his ruling party’s legislators. The agency did not identify the companies searched.
Turkey has sought Gulen’s extradition from the USA, which has asked for evidence against the cleric’s role in the coup plot against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who heads the Islam-rooted Justice and Development Party.
Western allies worry President Tayyip Erdogan, already accused by opponents of creeping authoritarianism, is using the crackdown to target dissent, testing relations with a key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation partner in the war on IS. Gulen has repeatedly denied any involvement.
The European Federation of Journalists says 68 journalists have been detained in Turkey since the coup.
Many were detained since the coup, but about half were taken into custody before the putsch, including Kurdish reporters working for a variety of local news outlets.
“We are a democracy, a republic with nearly 100 years of history, but we’re portrayed like a sultanate”, Sezgin said, adding that voter turn-out for elections is Turkey is 80 percent.
Those dismissed were described as having links to cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan turned enemy.
The government has given no reason for the reform, which is part of a series of measures outlined in two state-of-emergency decrees.
Turkish officials say they have handed over documents to US officials concerning Gulen.
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Turky’s prime minister appeared to step back from calls for the reintroduction of the death penalty for those involved in last month’s coup, saying on Tuesday that there were “tougher ways to die” than execution.
