Turkey claims that US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen has links to the attempted coup on July 15, and has demanded that Germany extradite his alleged followers.
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The first document was sent to the USA on July 19, days after the failed coup left at least 290 people dead.
More than 30,000 people gathered in Cologne, Germany in support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 31. About 18,000 people have been detained or arrested, a lot of them from the military, and authorities have said the purge of those suspected of links to Gulen in the military will continue.
Ankara also blocked German government officials from visiting soldiers at its Incirlik airbase, but subsequently agreed to a trip by German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen.
Already strained ties between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies Turkey and the United States have been aggravated by the failed putsch, with some government ministers even alleging Washington could have had a hand in the plot, which USA officials firmly reject.
Turkey is now requesting the extradition of Gulen – who has lived in self-imposed exile since 1999 – from his leafy compound in Pennsylvania.
Washington has insisted that Ankara provide proof to support its allegations against Gulen.
Regarding concerns about a possible reinstatement of the death penalty for those involved in the failed takeover, Erdogan reiterated his stance that the decision would be left up to Turkish lawmakers but he cited a strong desire by the Turkish public for capital punishment.
Erdogan even invited Amnesty to visit Turkey to check the reality of things and “see who did what”. None of the reports contains evidence, and they have been repeatedly rejected by the U.S. government.
“Through their messages, through their hidden communications, Turkish intelligence actually captured many (pieces of) evidence” that directly implicate Gulen, he said. Erdogan told Mexican television referring to the coup.
Two Children wave Turkish flag. “We want the death penalty!”
A mother and son embrace at a ferry station in Istanbul, on Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016.
Erdogan repeated a complaint that no foreign leader had visited Turkey after the failed coup, while France and Belgium received visits in solidarity after terror attacks there.
The aggressive military purges come at a time when the armed forces is stretched by fighting with Kurdish insurgents in southeast Turkey and threats from Islamic State militants on its border with Syria.
Turkey’s defense ministry has changed the postings of 167 generals within the army on Monday, reshuffling senior ranking officers in key positions. Defense Minister Fikri Isik said expulsions from the army were not over.
The Turkish lira plunged as much as eight percent against the United States dollar in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt.
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It comes after an announcement last week that more than 1,700 military personnel had been dishonourably discharged for their role in the putsch, which saw a faction of the military commandeer tanks, helicopters and warplanes in an attempt to topple the government.
