“If we show pity to these murderers, to these coup plotters, we will end up in a pitiful state”, he said.
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The first document was sent to the US on July 19, days after the failed coup left at least 290 people dead.
These concerns have been angrily dismissed by President Erdogan, who said those critical of the crackdown are siding with the coup plotters.
They have accused Western leaders of being more concerned about the rights of the plotters than the gravity of the threat to a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member.
Turkey meanwhile issued arrest warrants for about 100 staff, including doctors, at Ankara’s main military hospital, and even fired football referees in a new phase of the crackdown after the failed coup that has seen some 18,000 detained and caused worldwide consternation.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim says he has withdrawn lawsuits against about 1,500 people, including opposition politicians, journalists and writers, for insulting him or his office. Yet despite the public outcry, Dunford reaffirmed Monday that the American presence at Incirlik will continue with strong support from the Turkish government.
The government says the coup was instigated by a USA -based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, and is seeking his extradition.
The government says the coup effort was ordered by US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen and has begun purges of state institutions to rid them of alleged followers. Turkey has demanded his extradition, but Washington has asked for evidence of the cleric’s involvement, saying the extradition process must take its course.
“It’s up to Turkey whether there can be [a] visa-free regime or not”, Germany’s deputy chancellor said. “It is a shame that no European Union head of state, minister or high-ranking official has yet to visit Turkey since July 15”, he added.
In Ankara, police on Tuesday rounded up some 50 staff, including doctors, at Gulhane Military Medical Academy (GATA) hospital, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported, quoting police sources. Erdogan has demanded the US extradite Gulen, but the USA has said any extradition request must be processed through the US justice system, which is a codified due process.
The U.S.is still harboring Gulen, where his group of supporters holds its most important financial assets, Erdogan said.
He lashed out at Germany’s judicial authorities for not allowing him to address by video link a weekend rally supporting him in Cologne, saying Berlin had previously permitted leaders from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) to do so at earlier events. Berlin’s foreign ministry spokesman acknowledged relations were going through a “bumpy patch”.
Turkish special forces overnight captured a group of 11 rebel commandos who had tried to seize or kill Erdogan during the coup. “So they actually infiltrated nerve endings of our state”, he said, adding that all data and indicators point to FETO as being behind the crisis.
Meanwhile, a lawyer filed a criminal complaint against the, Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff; U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper and Gen. Joseph Votel, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, accusing them of backing Gulen. “We want the death penalty!”
Isik said 311 military personnel believed to have participated in the coup were still on the run including nine generals.
Thorbjorn Jagland was the first high-ranking European official to visit Turkey after the attempted coup which left more than 270 people dead.
Almost 1,400 more members of the armed forces were dismissed, and the top military council was stacked with government ministers on Sunday, moves designed by Erdogan to tighten civilian control over the military.
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Turkey has also launched a sweeping overhaul of state institutions, sacking tens of thousands of civil servants and shaking up the military. Defense Minister Fikri Isik said expulsions from the army were not over.
