In a statement responding to Erdogan, Amnesty said it had “repeatedly condemned the appalling violence committed by those behind the 15 July failed coup attempt”. On Wednesday, he accused the West of siding with terrorism and noted no European leaders had visited Turkey to express support after the coup.
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“We would like to see America take some serious steps” against Gulen and, while mulling Turkey’s extradition request, “put him in custody or prevent his activities” on USA soil, Kamil Aydin, a lawmaker from the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party, told VOA on Monday.
Gulen was once an Erdogan ally until ties soured several years ago.
Erdoğan criticised the West’s approach after the failed coup in Turkey. Turkey fears that he might flee to a third country to seek refuge.
The failed putsch has aggravated already-strained ties between the two North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies with some government ministers even alleging Washington could have had a hand in the plot, something USA officials have dismissed as “ludicrous”.
Erdogan was also critical of Germany, France and Belgium for not visiting Turkey following the failed coup, saying that foreign diplomats have visited the other countries to offer condolences after recent terror attacks.
Relations between the two countries suffered an additional blow after Turkish pro-government daily newspaper Yeni Safak reported immediately after the coup attempt that the operation was helped by a retired United States general, John Campbell, who previously commanded American troops in Afghanistan.
Erdogan angrily denounced the judicial authorities in Germany for not allowing him to address via video conference a rally in Cologne at the weekend in his support. A message from Erdogan was read out instead.
It is estimated more than three million people of Turkish origin live in Germany, many of them pro-Erdogan.
Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Twitter he would also attend, and that his own planned event with investors in Istanbul was postponed.
The number, however, is not a true representation of the group’s shadowy presence inside the Turkish state, he said.
German officials insist there was no wrongdoing.
The issue has soured the two countries’ relations.
Retaliating after a failed military attempt to unseat him, Erdogan has launched a purge that has seen tens of thousands of people suspended from their jobs and nearly 19,000 detained.
The Turkish government launched a sweeping crackdown on Gulen’s movement, which it characterizes as a terrorist organization and which runs schools, charities and businesses internationally.
Their capture came after Turkey dismissed almost 1,400 more members of its armed forces and stacked a top military council with government ministers on Sunday in moves to tighten control of the military after the coup.
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Turkey’s allies, including the USA and European Union nations, condemned the military uprising but have also warned that reprisals by the government should be measured. It said the action was taken as a “necessity”, without saying whether those dismissed were suspected of links to the Gulen movement. “You still say, ‘We are concerned.’ How can you show affection to the perpetrators of such a thing?” he asked. “Sorry, but everything has a price”.
