And Mr Erdogan’s former air force advisor, Lt. Col. Erkan Kivrak, was also arrested as the President attempts to round-up and coup sympathisers. “We will present them with more evidence than they want”, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told parliament, according to AFP.
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“This must be done in accordance with Turkish and global law”. He lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania but has a network of supporters in Turkey.
The foreign ministry has said criticism of the government’s response amounts to backing the coup.
“The death penalty undermines human dignity and is incompatible with Turkey’s global obligations”.
Erdogan’s suggestion the death penalty could be reinstated has also sent shudders through Europe, with the European Union warning such a move would be the nail in the coffin of Turkey’s already embattled bid to join the bloc.
While rights organizations have complained that the dismissals and detentions appear to have been carried out with little investigation, Turkish officials contend that there has been a long-standing investigation into Gulen’s movement.
The Turkish president on Wednesday stressed solidarity with the United States in dealing with the extradition of Gulen, who was accused by Ankara of plotting the failed military coup.
Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric based in the USA, and his people were behind Friday’s coup attempt, Erdogan said.
Dion elaborated briefly in an interview.
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.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that if an extradition request for Gulen was made, the us would agree to it only if there was compelling proof of wrongdoing by the cleric.
Pickerill declined to provide further details.
The Turkish government on Tuesday escalated its wide-ranging crackdown against people it claims have ties to plotters of last week’s attempted coup, firing tens of thousands of public employees across the country.
“But they had a falling out in 2013 over a corruption investigation that targeted Erdogan and some of his closest allies”.
He added that Washington was watching Turkey’s crackdown with caution, reported AP, but reiterated United States support for the country’s elected government. “We need unity… and brotherhood now”, he said.
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“The sheer number of arrests and suspensions in recent days is nothing short of alarming, and suggests that purges are now being used to censor anyone, including academics, who is critical of the government”, wrote David Robinson, the association’s executive director. Gulen, who has many followers in Turkey and overseas, denies the charge.
