Turkey officials to demand extradition of Fethullah Gülen from US

Source: The Guardian

Turkey’s foreign and justice ministers are due to travel to the US to demand the extradition of Fethullah Gülen, the US-based Turkish imam accused by the government of masterminding the abortive coup attempt that led to the deaths of 265 people and the dismissal of tens of thousands of public servants.

The Turkish justice minister Bekir Bozdag on Thursday accused Gülen of plotting the coup for decades, and said he would have returned to Turkey if the military plotters had not been thwarted. He had warned that Gülen, who has lived in rural Pennyslvania for years, could flee the US to seek political asylum to Australia, Mexico, Canada, South Africa or Egypt.

Turkish officials say they regard the evidence of Gülen complicity as overwhelming, and that any failure by the US to cooperate with the extradition will have long-term consequences for Turkish-US diplomatic relations.

Some Turkish media outlets have claimed a former US general John Campbell, who retired from the US-led military coalition in Afghanistan in May, planned the failed coup. The allegation has been rejected as absurd.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/28/turkey-fethullah-gulen-extradition-coup-attempt

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I'm not so sure we will hand this guy over. Especially when threats are made.