Turkish soldiers secure the area as supporters of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan protest in Istanbul’s Taksim square, early Saturday.
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More than 6,000 military personnel and other individuals have been detained, including 2,700 judges, according to Reuters.
Erdogan has mused at the idea of bringing back the death penalty which it abolished in 2004 to deal with the perpetrators of the coup. However, our duty is not over. “They won’t succeed as long as we stand against them by risking everything”. “Allah is great!” and “We want the death penalty!” “The necessary will be done”.
The US says it will look at any evidence Turkey has to offer against Mr Gulen, and judge accordingly.
He added European ministers meeting on Monday in Brussels would reiterate that Turkey had to conform to Europe’s democratic principles.
Tensions between Turkey and the USA have escalated following the attempted coup against the Erdogan administration, with the country’s leader demanding the extradition of a US-based cleric accused of orchestrating the violence.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has vowed that “they will pay a heavy price” and Erdogan asserted that he will remove the “viruses” from all state institutions.
Speaking to state-run news channel TRT Haber, Bekir Bozdag said keeping Mr Gulen “wouldn’t befit the solidarity, co-operation, alliance and friendship between Turkey and the United States”.
“However, I said very directly once again that this was an attempt by Gulen, who is residing in their country, and his structure within the military”, Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview in Ankara.
The arrests occurred after Turkish F-16s operated by those involved in the coup attempted to refuel planes there. A few journals that are published there [in the US] have been conducting activities for several months.
The U.S. government has said it would consider any formal request.
Gulen, who lives in Saylorsburgh, Pennsylvania, espouses a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with democracy.
The coup attempt was severely hindered by the massive crowds of ordinary citizens who turned out in the streets to support the government.
The unrest in Turkey is being monitored by the British government as the country aims to restore stability in the wake of the attempted military coup, Downing Street has said.
The 75-year-old preacher has categorically denied any involvement in the plot and suggested it could have been staged by Erdogan himself. “Base operations have not been affected”.
He also said he was confident that the United States would return Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen to Turkey.
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After the coup, Turkey imposed a security lockdown at the Incirlik Air Base, where the U.S.-led coalition launched airstrikes on the IS in Syria.
