Gulen has condemned the July 15 abortive coup and denied any involvement. He also said Gulen should not be allowed to flee to another country in the meantime.
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According to the Guardian, Erdogan released a statement on Saturday announcing a decree to close 1,043 private schools, 1,229 foundations and associations, 35 medical institutions, 19 unions and 15 universities linked to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. Now, as a result of the attempted coup, distrust roams the streets of Turkey and the awkward atmosphere strangles those who do still have jobs and try their hardest not to cause controversy or attract attention. After it was suppressed, Turkey briefly closed the airspace around Incirlik air base – a key site used by USA war planes in airstrikes against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Syria – and cut off power to it. And in one of his first public speeches after returning to power, Erdogan exhorted the U.S. to hand over Gulen.
“I told President Erdogan that they should present us with evidence that they think indicates the involvement of Mr. Gulen or anybody else who is here in the United States, and it would be processed the way that it is always processed and that we would certainly take any allegations like this seriously”, Obama said.
Erdogan has been accused of taking too much power for himself – even before the current state of emergency.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks after an emergency meeting of the government in Ankara, Turkey, late on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.
Turkey’s state of emergency also means temporary suspension of the European Convention on Human Rights, the deputy prime minister said earlier.
The US has so far failed to extradite Mr Erdogan’s former ally, preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom the government tenuously claims was behind the takeover attempt.
Turkey’s secular Republican People’s Party, CHP, has planned a rally for Sunday. However, the decree needs to be approved by the Parliament.
In his decree, Erdogan extended to a maximum of 30 days from four days the period in which some suspects can be detained.
Turkish authorities have already suspended, detained or placed under investigation more than 60,000 state employees during the last week.
The U.S. had no advance knowledge of last week’s failed coup attempt in Turkey, President Obama said Friday. During a state of emergency, security forces can freely search people without a judge telling them that they may do so.
According to the authorities, 10,410 people have been detained – mainly soldiers, including 283 Presidential Guard officers, but also police, judges and civil servants.
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In an interview with France 24 on July 23, Erdoğan said captured coup soldiers were now revealing the source of their instructions.
