President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lashed out at Turkey’s Western allies over last month’s failed putsch, accusing them of supporting “terror” and demanding Washington extradite a preacher he says orchestrated the coup.
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Meanwhile a Turkish court has issued an arrest warrant for Gulen, accusing him of “ordering the July 15 coup”, according to Turkey’s Anadolu News Agency.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Turkey on August 24, more than a month after a failed military coup shook the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member state, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with broadcaster TGRT Haber on Friday.
The lawyers said they expected Gulen, who has denied any involvement in the July 15 coup attempt, will remain in his remote mountain compound in Pennsylvania.
“There is no doubt that the coup attempt was the action of the organization and it was carried out by its founder (and) suspect Fethullah Gulen”, the warrant reads.
Gulen is a 75-year old cleric who has lived in Pennsylvania since 1991 and has denied any involvement in the coup. The Turkish government said that Gulen who, Ankara believes, is seeking to overthrow the current government was allegedly linked to a coup attempt.
Gulen had another arrest warrant issued against him on 20 October 2015 for his alleged role in the corruption probe of 25 December 2013. “This cancer is different, this virus has spread everywhere”, Erdogan said in a speech at the presidential palace to the heads of chambers of commerce and bourses.
Earlier on Thursday, Erdogan vowed to go after businesses linked to Gulen’s movement.
He said he understood Turkey’s need to “take on those behind the coup” but urged it to adopt judicial safeguards.
Ten of thousands of government employees have been suspended from their jobs or dismissed, and more than 18,000 people have been arrested or detained.
More than 13,000 people have been remanded in custody while almost 75,000 passports have been cancelled since the coup bid. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
The EU has described the death penalty as a “red line” for Turkey’s membership talks.
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He said every penny that goes to finance the Gulenist movement “is a bullet placed in a barrel to be fired against this nation. Let my God and my people forgive us”, he said. Instead, the Austrian leader calls for a “new approach” based on the need for close economic ties between the European Union and Ankara.
