The United States is evaluating new documents sent by Turkey to push for the extradition of US -based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the alleged mastermind of the country’s recent failed coup, a State Department spokesman said on Thursday.
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Turkey accuses Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, of masterminding the failed coup attempt by renegade officers in Turkey’s military and wants him extradited to Turkey.
More than 60,000 in the military, judiciary, civil service and education have been detained, suspended or placed under investigation in Turkey since the coup but until this week sport had seemingly remained clear of any involvement. The U.S. government has asked for evidence of the cleric’s involvement in the coup and has said the extradition process must be allowed to take its course.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 21, 2016.
The cross-party group of delegates from the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs committee met their Belgian counterparts as well as officials with the country’s Foreign Ministry and non-governmental organizations in Brussels.
Another participant of the group, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Erzurum lawmaker Kamil Aydin said the USA side was much more serious about the case and promised that they would speed up the process for Gulen’s extradition.
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.
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.
Gen. Joseph Votel, the top US commander for the Middle East, issued a statement last week denying theories that he was involved in the coup attempt.
Erdogan has said Gulen and others have “blood on its hands”.
She said the demand for capital punishment was high among the public at the moment, following the attempted military coup on 15 July that left over 240 dead and 2,000 injured.
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. The warrant is the first since the failed putsch, Anadolu said.
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“At the moment, those captured are just the tip of the iceberg, others continue working”.
