Turkey to demand extradition of Gülen

Istanbul : 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, yesterday 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.

The US has denied any prior knowledge of the coup attempt, but Turkish officials have noted that the coup plotters included senior Turkish officers at the strategic Incirlik air base used by US fighter jets to bomb Syria.

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. Turkey will have to present US authorities with a list of the criminal charges against Gülen, proof that similar charges exist under US law, and a clear set of evidence that amounts to more than surmise or hearsay. The extradition warrant would have to be issued by a judge.

American officials remain sceptical about the standard of evidence, and point out that Gülen was once a political ally of President Erdoğan.