Turkey officially requests US to extradite Gulen

Washington/Ankara, July 20: Turkey on Tuesday sent an official request to US government for the extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who was accused by Ankara of plotting a failed military coup. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told media that Materials related to the extradition of the cleric who lives in self-imposed exile in the US state of Pennsylvania were submitted to US authorities by the Turkish government in electronic form.

“The Justice Department and other US agencies are now reviewing the documents and will take action in accordance with a decades-long treaty between the two countries with respect to the extradition of crimils.”

Earlier in the day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the extradition of Fetullah Gulen during a telephone call with US President Barack Obama. “The president made clear to President Erdogan that the United States doesn’t support terrorists and doesn’t support individuals who conspired to overthrow a democratically elected government,” Adolu Agency quoted Josh Earnest as saying. He said Obama “reiterated once again the strong commitment of the United States to the democratically elected civilian government of Turkey” and commended the Turkish people’s effort in “defending the government and repelling the coup” last week. (IANS)