The military’s shortlived attempt to seize power and overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on July 15 claimed 239 lives and injured almost 2,200 others, according to state media. It has called on the United States to extradite him. Washington for its part, has asked for evidence of the cleric’s involvement, and has said the extradition process must be allowed to take its course. US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen has condemned Turkey’s judicial system after a court issued an arrest warrant which accuses him of ordering last month’s bid to topple President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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He is the first head of state to visit Turkey since the failed military intervention.
“US not involved in Turkey coup attempt” was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 07, 2016 and was last updated on August 07, 2016.
Yiannis Mouzalas, Greek minister for migration said on Thursday that Greece and other European countries would be “severely tested” if the March agreement failed – in the wake of an attempted coup in Turkey and a government crackdown on its alleged sympathizers that has strained relations with the EU.
Speaking Friday in Washington, Attorney Reid Weingarten suggested that the only evidence the Turkish government may have against Gulen is testimony from his sympathizers in Turkey, possibly obtained through torture.
On July 15, a faction of the Turkish military declared it was in control of the country and the government was no more in charge.Tanks, helicopters, and soldiers then clashed with police and people on the streets of the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blames the reclusive cleric Fethullah Gulen, who lives in the US state of Pennsylvania, for orchestrating a July 15 putsch to unseat him, and has urged Astana to purge Gulen followers in 33 Gulen-run schools in Kazakhstan.
Ankara has detained or suspended almost 60,000 people in a post-coup purge targeting alleged Gulen supporters within the military, judiciary, media and civil service.
“I think Mr. Erdogan believes that he snaps his fingers, people jump”, he said.
“The time has come to. clearly say that the EU’s negotiations with Turkey have to be suspended or ended”, Doskozil told the Austria Press Agency in an interview published on Thursday.
Nazarbayev said Kazakhstan would not support anyone who was against Turkey.
The circular also called on local branches to avoid “agitation and gossip” during the purges.
Officials say these steps are the result of years of meticulous investigations into people with links to the Gulen movement.
Last year Germany took in around 1.1 million people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and beyond, far more than any other European Union state, creating conditions that have led to a rise in social and political tensions in Europe’s powerhouse economy.
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A spokesman for the German Foreign Office confirmed the reports, without providing more details. On Friday, Anadolu said 12 journalists who used to work for the Zaman newspaper were formally arrested pending trial, including columnist Mumtazer Turkone.
