Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Associated Press
ISTANBUL
Asserting that “all the evidence” points to a U.S.-based Muslim cleric as the mastermind of last week’s failed coup, Turkey’s government on Tuesday fired tens of thousands of teachers, university deans and others accused of ties to the plot and demanded the cleric’s extradition.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue in a phone call with U.S. President Barack Obama, and his spokesman said the government was preparing a formal extradition request for the cleric, Fethullah Gulen. But he also suggested that the U.S. government shouldn’t require the facts before extraditing him.
“A person of this kind can easily be extradited on grounds of suspicion,” said the spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin. “And there is very strong suspicion for his involvement, for Gulen’s involvement, in this coup attempt. So this is sufficient ground.”
Later, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that Turkey had submitted materials related to Gulen and the administration was reviewing whether they amounted to a formal extradition request. Earnest added that a decision on whether to extradite would be made under a longstanding treaty between the two countries, and wouldn’t be made by Obama.
The extradition demand is likely to strain U.S.-Turkey ties as the Obama administration refers the matter to the Justice Department, which will determine whether the Turkish government has established probable cause that a crime was committed.
Gulen has strongly denied the government’s charges, suggesting that Friday’s attempted coup could have been staged as a pretext for the Erdogan government to seize even more power.