Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives in a conference of the heads of chambers of commerce in Ankara, Turkey, on Thursday, Aug. 4, 2016.
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The Turkish government has said Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, masterminded the coup by renegade officers in the military and has called on the U.S.to extradite him to Turkey.
In a fiery speech delivered a few days after the coup, Erdogan had said if the Turkish public demands the death penalty then it should be allowed.
Gulen’s influence in Turkey goes back to the premierships of Bulent Ecevit in the 1970s and he was a strong presence in Turkish politics before anyone had even heard of Erdogan.
A rogue faction within the military tried to wrest control of the country on July 15, launching attacks on parliament and the president’s palace.
The arrest warrant, issued earlier in the day, accuses Gulen of “ordering the July 15 coup”, the Anadolu news agency reported. Erdogan believes it was Gulen, who lives in exile in Pennsylvania, who orchestrated the failed coup against him.
Analysts say it would be unlikely for now that Turkey, a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation member since 1952 and European Union candidate for decades, could readjust its pro-Western stance or recalibrate its policy towards traditional rivals like Russian Federation.
Turkish authorities has already seized a bank, taken over or closed several media companies, and detained businessmen on allegations of funding Gulen’s movement before the failed coup.
Ankara says Fethullah Gulen, an Islamist opposition figure permanently resident in the United States, and FETO backers were behind it. FETO is an acronym widely used in Turkey in relation to different groups associated with Gulen.
But the move has been delayed because of a row over anti-terror legislation following Turkey’s failed coup. The US has said its judiciary will consider a request when filed.
If confirmed, the visits would take place despite a spike in tensions with Washington, with Ankara repeatedly demanding Gulen’s extradition since the July 15 coup bid.
Gulen has denied involvement or prior knowledge of the violent coup attempt that left more than 270 people dead.
Robert Amsterdam, whose firm represented the plaintiffs who were allegedly persecuted by Gulen’s followers, said the case was dismissed on procedural grounds before his attorneys had the chance to present compelling witness testimony. “For now, those who are captured are the tip of the iceberg”.
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Since the coup attempt, almost 70,000 people have been suspended or dismissed from jobs in the civil service, judiciary, education, health care, the military and the media.
