- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

Turkish Embassy in US Denies Anakara's Attempts to Illegally Extradite Gulen

© REUTERS / Charles MostollerUS based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, US July 29, 2016
US based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, US July 29, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
While Turkey continues to demand that the US extradite Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen for his reported role organizing the 2016 coup attempt, it maintains that recent allegations that it sought to have the religious leader kidnapped and repatriated are "ludicrous."

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Turkish embassy in the United States has refuted reports on the attempts by Ankara to illegally achieve the extradition of the exiled cleric, calling them "arrant nonsense, ludicrous and groundless facts."

However, according to the embassy, Ankara still expects "the immediate extradition of Fetullah Gulen from the United States to Turkey, so that he can stand trial."

National security adviser General Michael Flynn delivers a statement daily briefing at the White House in Washington U.S., February 1, 2017 - Sputnik International
Flynn's Lawyer Denies 'Outrageous Allegations' of Turkish Bribe for Gulen
Earlier this week, the Wall Street Journal reported citing its sources that US Special Counsel Robert Mueller was investigating former White House national security adviser Mike Flynn’s alleged role in the forcible extradition of Gulen, who lives in a remote compound in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to Turkey in return for $15 million. However, a lawyer for Flynn's son and a spokesman for Flynn's team have denied accusations coming from the Wall Street Journal's report, according to Reuters. Additionally, media reported in March that Flynn was involved in carrying out research on Gulen that may have benefited the Turkish government.

READ MORE: Mueller Investigation Has Enough Evidence to Charge Michael Flynn – Media Report

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan demanded Gulen's extradition from the US after the failed coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016 claimed the lives of more than 240 people. The Turkish government has accused Fethullah Gulen, who has been living in Pennsylvania since 1999, of masterminding the coup. Moreover, Ankara has sent several packages of documents to Washington since then to support the extradition request.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала