U.S. State Department announced Tuesday it has received a formal request from Ankara for the extradition of Fetullah Gulen, sought in Turkey on charges of leading a bloody coup attempt last month. Gulen lives in Saylorsburg, Monroe County. Turkey says those institutions were infiltrated by Gulen’s followers years ago in a bid to take over the state. “But I wouldn’t characterize the request as relating to the coup attempt”, deputy State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters. But Turkey’s government is blaming the chaos on the cleric, who promotes a philosophy that blends a mystical form of Islam with staunch advocacy of democracy, education, science and interfaith dialogue.
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Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen is officially the subject of an extradition request from Ankara.
But the US and Turkey are unlikely to resolve their dispute over Gulen, who has lived in the USA state of Pennsylvania for 17 years in self-imposed exile.
Turkey has said nearly 200 people, at least 47 of them civilians, were killed as a faction of the armed forces tried to seize power on July 15.
Vice President Joe Biden is also expected in Turkey on Wednesday.
Biden, who visited Latvia on Tuesday, will look to show support with Turkey, while raising concern about the extent of the crackdown, according to officials.
Turkey and the US are party to a 1979 extradition treaty.
“The United States stands with its ally Turkey”, Biden said.
Washington has said it needs clear evidence to extradite Gulen.
Turkey’s fragile security was highlighted over the weekend when a suicide bomber killed at least 54 people at a Kurdish wedding celebration in Gaziantep, near the Syria border. Instead, he’ll try to convey that America values Turkey as a key North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally amid worrying signs that the US and Turkish approaches to the Syrian conflict may be diverging.
The source also revealed that Ismail Hakki, one of the most leading Turkish diplomats, is the person conducting the negotiations on Ankara’s behalf. I believe they mean what they say.
Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag warned that the relationship between both countries could be negatively affected if Gulen is not extradited.
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The US Justice Department sent agents to Turkey earlier this week to gather their own evidence related to the potential extradition of Gulen.
