More than 250 people were killed before the rebellion was put down.
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Turkish lawmakers declared a three-month state of emergency Thursday, overwhelmingly approving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s request for sweeping new powers to expand a government crackdown after last week’s attempt military coup. The Associated Press quoted a lawyer acting for the Turkish government over the weekend as saying, “there are indications of direct involvement” in the coup attempt by Gulen. This is in addition to him killing thousands of people.
Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday that his government had sent four files to the United States in a bid to secure the extradition of a man Ankara brands a “traitor”. “It isn’t martial law of 1990s”, he wrote on Twitter.
For the state of emergency to be implemented, the decision must be approved by Parliament.
Erdogan said he needs new powers to “rid the military of the virus of subversion”.
So far, almost 10,000 people have been arrested while hundreds of schools have been closed.
The government suspended 15,200 state education employees allegedly linked to the “Fethullah Terrorist Organisation” – its name for Gulen’s network – and demanded the resignation of nearly 1,600 deans from private and state universities. Her opinion reflects the concern of Turkish minority groups of more threats to their rights.
Turkey has demanded their return to stand trial for alleged participation in the coup attempt.
“We will remain within a democratic parliamentary system, we will never step away from it”, he said.
Earnest said the Turkish government had filed materials in electronic form with the USA government, which the Justice Department and State Department were reviewing. But he also suggested that the USA government shouldn’t require the facts before extraditing him.
Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated Wednesday that the US government has made it clear to the Turkish government that it must present hard evidence of Gulen’s involvement in illegal activities if they want Gulen extradited – not just accusations and speculation.
He said the government is going after those who organized and carried out the coup.
“People are being pursued without any evidence that they participated in this coup”, he said, adding that the government is “targeting people for their political affiliations. We will have a legal framework for it”, he said.
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Turkey’s anxious Western allies have told Ankara to abide by the rule of law amid fears about a worsening state of democracy and human rights in the strategic North Atlantic Treaty Organisation nation. “The situation is very bad for those concerned with long-term stability, democracy, and the rule of law”.
