TURKEY-CLERIC/US REAX State Dept. will not confirm extradition request for Turkish cleric Gulen
Record ID:
863003
TURKEY-CLERIC/US REAX State Dept. will not confirm extradition request for Turkish cleric Gulen
- Title: TURKEY-CLERIC/US REAX State Dept. will not confirm extradition request for Turkish cleric Gulen
- Date: 19th December 2014
- Summary: SAYLORSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES (DECEMBER 19, 2014)(REUTERS) CARS PULLING INTO COMPOUND WHERE MUSLIM CLERIC FETHULLAH GULEN IS BELIEVED TO BE VARIOUS OF NO TRESPASSING SIGNS
- Embargoed: 3rd January 2015 12:00
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- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVABLUIQPH4LI3B0GAD8S4CWHJIS
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- Story Text: A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant on Friday (December 19) for U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen whose followers are accused by President Tayyip Erdogan of leading a terrorist plot to seize power, according to media.
The warrant takes Erdogan's campaign to root out Gulen supporters, including purges of the judiciary and police, to the international arena potentially testing strained relations with Washington. Newspapers said a prosecutor, filing for the warrant, accused him of leading a terrorist gang.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said she is aware of the reports.
"We have seen the reports. As a matter of long standing policy the Department of State does not comment on extradition requests or confirm or deny that an extradition has been made. More specifically or for more specifics, I'd refer you to the Turkish government," Psaki told reporters.
Gulen has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999. He was a close ally of Erdogan in the early years after his ruling AK Party took power in 2002 but has been in open conflict with him since a graft investigation emerged a year ago targeting the then-prime minister's inner circle.
Erdogan portrays the investigation as part of a coup attempt and describes Gulen's followers as traitors and terrorists - all charges that Gulen, who runs a vast network of schools and business enterprises in Turkey and abroad, denies.
Officials at Gulen's headquarters in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, a complex of buildings surrounded by woodland, were not immediately available for comment.
Courts have dropped the corruption cases, critics at home and in the West citing that as evidence Erdogan is stripping the judiciary of its independence.
In his request for a warrant, the prosecutor accused Gulen of heading a criminal gang. The charges include operating an armed terror group, which carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, media including Aksam newspaper said.
Ankara can now apply to Washington for Gulen's extradition, with no guarantee of success. Erdogan's image in the West, once that of a moderate reformer, has been eroded as his open intolerance of opposition and of criticism has grown.
A court remanded Hidayet Karaca, who heads Samanyolu Television which is close to Gulen, and three other people in custody on accusations of belonging to a terrorist group.
The European Union, which Turkey is seeking to join, said last weekend's police raids to detain Karaca and other media workers violated European values. Erdogan told the bloc to mind its own business. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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