ISTANBUL, July 17: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday urged the United States to extradite the preacher Fethullah Gulen, who he accuses of masterminding the failed coup, to face trial in Turkey. He said action would be taken against the elements who tried to commit coup against the constitutionally elected government. He said these elements will be brought out from their houses and secret hideouts and country will be purged of from these elements. He said the action against the rebels will be taken while remaining under the ambit of the law and constitution. He said no one would be allowed to take the law into hands during the trial of the rebels. He said the debate could be held in parliament on awarding capital punishment to rebels.
“The United States – you must extradite that person,” he told thousands of supporters in Istanbul outside his residence, referring to Gulen, who lives in Pennsylvania and has denied any involvement in Friday’s attempted coup.
Erdogan said he had repeatedly told US President Barack Obama that Gulen threatened Turkey’s security and should be extradited. “I am calling on America here, I am calling on Mr President (Obama),” he told the crowd. “Mr President, I told you myself, either deport or hand over to us this person who lives in 400 acres of land in Pennsylvania,” he said, carefully not referring to Gulen by name. “I told you that he was engaged in coup plots but I was not listened to. Now again today after the coup I say it again. Deliver this man who lives in Pennsylvania to Turkey,” said Erdogan. Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday that the United States will assist Turkey in the investigation of the failed coup and invited Ankara to share any evidence it has against Gulen. “We fully anticipate that there will be questions raised about Mr Gulen,” he said in Luxembourg. Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have reportedly detained a senior air force general and other officers accused of backing the failed coup aimed at ousting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a key air base used by US forces for raids in Syria. Brigadier air force general Bekir Ercan Van was detained along with over a dozen lower ranking officers on Saturday at the air force base of Incirlik in Turkey’s southern Adana province, newspapers including the Hurriyet daily said. They were now being interrogated by investigators, the reports added. A Turkish official told a foreign news agency that Ankara suspected Incirlik was used to refuel military aircraft “hijacked” by the coup plotters on Friday night. The base has become a key hub for US forces after Turkey last year agreed to allow the United States to use Incirlik to carry out lethal raids against jihadists in Syria. But the Turkish authorities imposed a security lockdown on the base in the wake of the coup, allowing no movement in or out, the US consulate in Adana said.-SABAH
