“We would be disappointed if our (American) friends told us to present proof even though members of the assassin organization are trying to destroy an elected government under the directions of that person”, Yildirim said.
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The government says a U.S.-based Muslim cleric was behind the coup.
Turkey’s president on Wednesday declared a three-month state of emergency following a failed coup.
People wave Turkish flags as they gather in Taksim Square in Istanbul, protesting against the attempted coup, Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
The agency said the schools are linked to Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania and has denied accusations that he engineered the coup attempt that was quashed by security forces and protesters loyal to the government.
Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia Director Hugh Williamson noted: “The speed and scale of the arrests, including of top judges, suggests a purge rather than a process based on any evidence”.
On Tuesday, authorities shut down media outlets deemed to be supportive of Gulen and said 15,000 people had been suspended from the education ministry along with 100 intelligence officials.
Erdogan was in the Aegean resort of Marmaris when the coup struck.
Turkish citizens have anxious that the failed military coup will expand Erdogan’s power in the country.
“A deep split is emerging in Turkish society”, Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. Turkey’s opposition parties have united against the coup attempt, condemning it in the harshest terms and underscoring their determination to preserve democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.
Yildirim said the justice ministry had sent a dossier to U.S. authorities on Gulen, whose religious movement blends conservative Islamic values with a pro-Western outlook and who has a network of supporters within Turkey.
“We need to make sure that all those who will be arrested related to his coup will have the opportunity to defend themselves in a robust and legitimate trial”.
Later, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Turkey had submitted materials related to Gulen and the administration was reviewing whether they amounted to a formal extradition request.
This treaty excludes offences “of a political character” although it does cover those “committed or attempted against a head of state or a head of government”. “But we also firmly urge the government of Turkey to maintain calm and stability throughout the country”, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry told a news briefing in Brussels where he attended a gathering of European counterparts.
US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen yesterday called on the United States to reject Turkey’s request to extradite him. “They said on television that some of the privates were innocent”, Ay said.
Some Western leaders have voiced concern he is using the opportunity to firm his grip on power.
After Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey would consider a return of capital punishment, Seibert said such a move “would mean the end of European Union membership talks”.
He said the government will go after “rogue” elements within the state as he warned there could have been “carnage in the streets” had the coup succeeded.
Officials on Wednesday raised the death toll from the violence surrounding the coup attempt to 240 government supporters.
Significantly, the commander of Incirlik, General Bekir Ercan Van, was among those detained over the abortive coup. About 8,000 police officers, including in Ankara and the biggest city Istanbul, have also been removed.
About 1,500 finance ministry officials had been suspended, a ministry official said, and CNN Turk said 30 governors and more than 50 high-ranking civil servants had been dismissed.
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The government has since cracked down hard on alleged rebel soldiers, formally arresting 99 of 118 detained generals and admirals, and also placing in custody thousands of troops, with some later seen bruised and wounded.
